It's 3am!
by Ace-Garnet
Summary: Christine and Raoul are college freshman and have different opinions of famous junior, Erik Destler. Christine admires the person who created her favorite musical though denies having a crush. And Raoul...well, he can't stand the other, glaring at the elder during class and can't see the appeal his girlfriend sees. Then, they get the chance to know him and thoughts change. RxExC.
1. Everyone Loves Him, Except Me

**I'm BAACCCKKKKK! Hello my dear readers! Miss me? I was gone for a while, but I did say I would return and had a couple things up my sleeve when it happened. And that moment has finally arrived! I'll try to update regularly, but my new living schedule is very limited, I'll try not to leave you guys hanging for too long…maybe. ;)**

 **Here we go with the next one! First chapter is in Raoul's POV, though I'm sure you could guess that by the chapter title.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

 **Now onwards!**

Everyone Loves Him, Except Me

Why did I come to here again? Raoul thought as he settled down in the library to study.

He heard the chair across from him move and glanced up to see his girlfriend, Christine, sitting down. The sight of her made Raoul mentally shrugged. He remembered why.

The two of them were freshman in college, and it was a month into the semester. Raoul had not been prepared for the craziness that was college life and had struggled the first couple weeks. Luckily, so had Christine and they had gotten through it together. Raoul had been happy to learn that they were going to share the same dorm building, but were still a few floors away from each other. Each floor being single-sex and all that. Her roommate was a sweet but spunky freshman called Meg while he shared his room with a slightly intimidating junior named Nadir.

Christine had become fast friends with her roommate, while Raoul actively tried to avoid his. It wasn't that the older man was mean or rude but he was one of those quiet, intense types that made Raoul nervous to be around. Nadir was kind enough, but they didn't speak to each other much when they happened to be in the dorm room at the same time. Sure they could be considered on friendly terms but Raoul doubted that they would ever be friends. Besides, the Iranian student seemed to be the type that kept to himself and have a small group of friends.

Raoul and Christine had already promised each other that once they knew that they could afford it, they were going to get off campus housing. Raoul thought that they could do it now but there was a requirement for freshman to live on campus. Bummer but there you go.

The only reason why Raoul had even gone to this school was because of Christine. He was a business major so pretty much had his pick of schools. Christine, on the other hand, was determined to get a degree in performing arts and that was a major that needed a good school. Raoul hadn't realized this at first but he now understood it. Christine had made sure of that. It was all about networking for her major and while the school itself wasn't the most prestigious school in that field, it had a great networking system and Christine wanted to use that to her full advantage.

That wasn't going too happened until later though, right now, they had to deal with the school's core classes that everyone had to take. It was dull and boring!

That's why they were currently in the library. It was Raoul's favorite place to study other than his dorm, which he knew he couldn't use at the time because Nadir was out of class and liked to spend his free time after those days taking a short nap before he had to go to work. Even if Raoul didn't already make sure he wasn't there because he was tense around Nadir, he would have stayed away to give the man the time to sleep.

"Do we have to do history first? It's boring!" Raoul remarked as he noticed that Christine had taken her history textbook out. The evil thing was, maybe not the biggest book, but it was the densest one to read.

Christine raised her eyebrow but had a smirk on her lips, she knew how much he hated history. "Wouldn't it be better to get the most hated one out of the way first?"

Raoul groaned softly, already wanting to bang his head against the table. Christine had a point, she usually did. This was not going to be fun.

With a defeated sigh, Raoul took out his hated textbook and flipped to where they needed to read the chapter and answer the questions that were posted online by the professor. They had to do that for three chapters. That didn't sound too bad, if it wasn't for the fact that each chapter was about 40 pages each.

Raoul sort of wanted to cry and they had only started.

Yet, he had Christine and that automatically made things better. She read the chapters out loud and would often use her voice to make the chapters more interesting. One could only do that so much with something so boring but it helped.

An hour into their work, Meg showed up.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Anton needed my help." She explained as she sat down next to Christine. "What are we working on?"

"History. We're almost done with the first set of questions." Christine replied. "What did Antoinette need?"

Antoinette was Meg's older sister who was a junior this year. She was majoring in dance and from what Meg has told Raoul and Christine about her, she was doing extremely well. She was already receiving offers at different dance and theatre companies to get her as their dancer. Meg herself was an English major because she wanted to be a writer, specifically gothic and horror. Raoul has read a few of her short stories and he knew without a doubt that someday that will happen.

"She wanted a second opinion on her routine for the auditions for the dance competition coming up. I told her that it wasn't until December but, she likes to plan early." Meg informed them.

"Why haven't we met her yet? As your friends, shouldn't we meet your sister? Especially since she's in the same school?" Raoul joined offhand as he twirled his pencil in his hand.

Meg shrugged. "She doesn't like to meet new people, people tend to want to use her because she's Erik's friend."

Raoul rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, Erik, musical genius that only came off his high horse and graced us with his presence because he wanted to experience college life."

Meg huffed. "He's not like that. You wouldn't know that because you don't know him."

"Oh, but I do. I have my music appreciation class with him as the tutor remember." Raoul stopped twirling the pencil and pointed its tip at Meg. "If I had a dollar for every time I've seen him roll his eyes at someone's answer I would be a very rich man indeed."

Meg scowled. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Chance the topic."

Raoul shrugged and caught sight of Christine giving him a disapproving frown which made Raoul inwardly cringe. Maybe he shouldn't have said that last part. He knew that Meg had grown up with Erik as her older sister's best friend and as a result, saw him as an older brother. Even if Raoul didn't like him, he should have held his tongue for Meg's sake.

Raoul sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry, ignore me. The history is getting to me."

Meg grinned in sympathy. "I know how that feels. Maybe I can help with that."

Raoul nodded gratefully and they got back to work, though he couldn't help but linger his thoughts on what they had talked about.

Erik Destler was kind of a star figure on the campus. He was a junior this year but when the media had discovered that the esteemed musical genius was going to college, they flipped. He had created a musical when he was eighteen and it had hit big in Broadway. For a year, the creator of Don Juan Triumphant was a major name in the theatre industry and travelled around to different states that wanted to perform the musical he had created. However, after that year, Erik suddenly announced that he was going to spend the next few years at a university and had chosen the one Raoul and Christine had begun to attend a year later.

No explanation was given except that he wanted to go to college and see what it was like. It didn't hurt that the school basically paid for everything because they could say they had him as a student. A lot of people were not satisfied with that and a lot of theories came into play. The most popular was that the genius had gone there because his lover was going there. Said lover was commonly thought to be either Antoinette or Nadir, his childhood friends. Yes Raoul's roommate was Erik's friend, another reason why Raoul tried to avoid the older man. Luckily, two years has passed since Erik started school and now the fuss is pretty much over with.

Meg had told them a little bit about the trio but for the most part remained tight lipped. Raoul couldn't say he blamed her, Erik seemed like the type of person that liked his privacy and chose a selective few to help him maintain it. He kind of felt sorry for Christine though. She was a fan of Don Juan Triumphant and to have a friend that was close to the creator of one of her favorite musicals probably wasn't all that fun. But she was also one of the most sympathetic people Raoul knew and wouldn't dare use her friendship with Meg to meet Erik. Though, she did punch Raoul's arm when she found out that Erik was his music appreciation tutor. It had been hilarious because a jealous Christine was a funny Christine, but he digressed.

Raoul had no thoughts on the creator of the now popular musical, the most he cared about the musical itself was when Christine talked about it. However, when he had met the man, his thoughts formed and they weren't pretty. He didn't think he has ever met such an arrogant person before. Raoul truly had no idea how a person like Meg and Nadir could stand to be around the man. He couldn't say his opinion on Antoinette because he has never met the woman before. Sure, Raoul was fine with a little confidence, because, hey, how wouldn't that soar up because of the popularity of his musical, but Erik was about five levels too high!

He was arrogant and dismissive of the students in the class. Raoul had not been lying when he had said that he would be rich from the amount of times that the older man rolled his golden eyes because of something a student asked or said. While Raoul was in class, Erik would sit at the professor's desk as the professor gave the lecture seemingly not to be paying any attention at all. He would spend most of the class what Raoul thought would be writing music on blank sheets, tapping his free hand to the beat as if playing a piano. The only reason why Raoul knew that Erik would roll his eyes so much was because his writing hand also tended to twitch on paper. The first couple weeks he would look up to see who had spoken, but then would dropped his head back down to go back to his music. Apparently, he learned to recognize everyone's voices because he stopped doing it, but after that, Raoul saw every hand twitch and every subtle eye roll.

It made Raoul frustrated that a guy like him could get all this attention and not be humble by it, instead it was the opposite. Every time Erik gave an eye-roll or hand twitch, Raoul wanted to yell at him. Not everyone was a musical genius like him! Most people needed time to learn things and sometimes they get things wrong! There are such things as dumb questions, but Raoul didn't think that any of the ones asked the past month warranted such a patronizing reaction. Plus, a lot of the students in that class aren't there because they are music majors, they took it because they saw it as an easy pass class for a requirement they needed. Meaning, they really aren't going to know a lot about the subject beforehand. So yes, Raoul didn't like Erik. Even if Meg told him that Erik wasn't like that, it was hard to believe when he sees how the older man acts with his own eyes.

Raoul mentally shook his head at the thoughts. He needed to focus on the assignment, Meg and Christine would not be happy with him if they think he wasn't pulling his own weight in the group. Raoul could argue that Meg needed to catch up with their work, but he would rather not risk it.

 **Basically this was an introductory, as I'm sure you were able to tell. Things pick up after this, do not worry. Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter regardless and will leave a review! Please!? They are lovely to read and I get in the writing mood when I read them. Lol ;) Anyway, I'll see ya next time. Next chapter will be in Christine's POV.**


	2. Well, That Was Awkward…And Humiliating

**Guys! I'm sorry! I'm not dead! I was just SUPER SUPER busy past few weeks. At one point, I wasn't able to update if I wanted to. And I did. Sigh. Well, I'm back though. And everything will, hopefully, go back to normal. Please accept my apologies and read the newest edition to the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

 **Please Read and Review!**

Well, That Was Awkward…And Humiliating

It took another three hours before the trio were done with the history homework. Christine yawned as she typed in her last answer and submitted it online. She glanced up and saw Meg rubbing her eyes and Raoul appearing about to fall asleep in his seat.

Christine grinned at them. "Come on. Let's call it a night. We'll meet up tomorrow to get the rest of it done."

Raoul groaned as he straightened up and stretched his arms above him. "It's a crime to be doing homework this late on a Friday night and have to still do more on a Saturday."

"It is not crime." Meg replied with a small grinned.

Raoul shrugged and stood up. "Well it should be. I swear, professors think we have no lives except to cater to their classes, as if we don't have any other ones."

"I'll agree to that." Christine nodded. "But at least the worse part of it is over…for this week at least."

"Do you purposely say these things to torture me?" Raoul replied as he placed the last of his things in his backpack and swung it over his shoulder.

"Only when it's funny." Christine replied easily and laughed when Raoul sent her a scowl.

"Obviously what you need is some food. We can go to the dining hall, I think they're open for another hour." Meg suggested.

The three of them made their way out of the library when Christine replied.

"Don't you feel bad going so close to closing?" she began. "I mean, the people there working are probably trying to relax after the chaos the dinner shift brings yet there are still a few stragglers that come in last minute. I know it would annoy me."

"Maybe." Meg conceded. "But I want a meal! Not just some fast food place that's open on campus. I got a meal plan and I _plan_ on using it!"

Christine laughed but agreed to go to the dining hall. The three of them joked and talked about nothing at all until they got to the hall where Christine spotted a trio coming out of the large building. She almost stumbled at catching sight of the white mask that was adorned on the man in the middle's face. It covered his face almost completely, except for his eyes and below where his cheekbones would be. She would recognize the well-dressed man anywhere.

Said man with a mask also must have seen them as he walked out with Raoul's roommate Nadir and a woman with long braided hair that resembled Meg, because his golden eyes lit up and he began to make his way over.

"Meg! How's my pearl?" Erik called out to get the other girl's attention.

Meg glanced up and smiled.

"Not bad. Just got out of doing a session for our history homework." She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Three hours to do it!"

"It is history," Nadir replied in his deep voice as him and the woman, who Christine could only guess as being Antoinette, came to them as well. "You shouldn't be surprise by the work load."

"I didn't think it would be this much for a beginner class!" Meg argued. "I thought I wouldn't get into this much reading unless I was a history major!"

"That's college for you." Antoinette answered with a grin. "I told you it's harder than you think."

"My dear, be kind. I remember a certain someone also having difficulty in the beginning." Erik replied with a smirk and Antoinette rolled her eyes but had a grin on her lips.

Christine watched the four interact without saying anything. She knew that Raoul didn't feel very comfortable as he stood next to her, because he didn't like Erik and was tense around Nadir. However, it was interesting to see how Meg acted around her sibling and her friends. The older three was all standing close to each other in front of Meg, and when one made a gesture, one of the other two would also move as if they were connected somehow. Christine didn't think she ever met people who were obviously as close the three in front of her.

Abruptly, Erik's eyes glanced to the side and met hers for a moment. The intensity of those eyes almost made her breathless but was able to not have a visible reaction.

"Ah, I don't believe we've met before." Erik turned to her fully and stepped forward from between Antoinette and Nadir. He held out his hand. "I'm Erik."

Christine was mentally horrified as she felt her cheeks heat up from getting the attention of the man who created one of her favorite musicals. She knew that her horror probably only increased the red that was probably on her cheeks but silently hoped that Erik wouldn't pay it much mind.

"I'm Christine." She replied as she took his hand.

"Miss Daae then." Erik remarked simply. Christine's eyes widen and he chuckled. "My pearl has already told me about you. However, I wanted to make sure that I had the correct person."

Christine sent a scowl towards Meg who was standing behind Erik but she gave an innocent shrug.

"All things she's said are good things, I assure you." Erik continued with an amused spark in his eye. "She has told me that you sing quite beautifully."

Christine felt like she would never turn a normal shade again, she would forever had a pink tint to her cheeks.

"I'm okay." She mumbled.

Erik shook his head.

"If Meg gives a compliment to someone they have truly earned it." He let go of her hand and nodded towards Raoul. "Mr. de Chagny."

Christine felt Raoul twitch behind her as if he was startled that Erik directly addressed him.

"Erik." Raoul greeted with a grumble in his tone. It made Christine want to elbow him but didn't want the others to see it.

Erik blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but Antoinette came up to stand by him.

"Don't keep Meg's friends to yourself, introduce me." She told him.

Instantly, Erik turned towards her with a grin. "Fine, though I know you are more than capable of doing it yourself. Miss Daae. Mr. de Chagny. This is Antoinette."

"I'm Meg's older sister." Antoinette continued with a mischievous smirk. "Let me know if you want any embarrassing stories of her, I got plenty."

"Now, now." Nadir came up when Meg began to protest. "If you share any stories of her, I'll make sure to do the same to you."

Antoinette gained a betrayed look and Meg made a triumphant sound.

"Come on." Erik declared before Antoinette could argue, taking her hand and wrapping it around the crease of his arm. "They have to get inside before the hall closes. Let's leave them to it."

Antoinette didn't protest and Erik turned back to them.

"It was nice meeting you Miss Daae. Mr. de Chagny, I'll see you on Monday. Goodnight Meg."

With that, Erik began to lead Antoinette away and Nadir followed after them. Christine watched them for a few moments and then turned to Meg.

"Are you sure your sister isn't dating Erik? They sure act like a couple." She asked, though a part of her didn't want the answer in case it was a confirmation.

Meg shrugged and started towards the dining hall again. "They've always acted like that. Trust me, they do not like each other that way."

"I can see how people think they are together though." Raoul stated. They got inside and the cashier gave them a grumpy look but took their IDs to swipe.

"Nadir would be a more likely factor." Meg snorted, taking her card back and waited for them.

Christine raised one of her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Heck no! Nadir would castrate Erik before that." Meg laughed. "The three of them are more like…I don't really know how to describe them. I would say siblings but I don't think that's a strong enough word."

"Yeah, okay, I'm done talking about them. Let's eat already!" Raoul exclaimed and practically ran to one of the stations for food.

Christine laughed and Meg and she followed after him.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you don't like Erik." Christine stated as she and Raoul made their way towards their history class on Monday.

It had been a long weekend of getting her assignments done but Christine pulled through it and even got a little ahead of one of her classes. Not that it meant much in the end because the professor for that class ended up changing the material for their next section. As a result, what made her get ahead for that short period of time was useless now.

Raoul rolled his eyes. "You know why. The man is arrogant, you don't see it though because you're his fan."

"But he was nice yesterday." Christine huffed. "And don't bring me liking his musical into this. Your opinion of him seems childish, you don't know the real him."

"Neither do you." Raoul countered.

Christine had to admit that he had a point and remained quiet for a couple minutes.

When they were close to the building that they needed, Christine saw a motion in the corner of her eye and looked up. To her surprise it was Erik across the street and he was waving his hand above his head towards them. Startled and a little bit happy that he noticed her, Christine paused on the sidewalk and gave a small wave back.

Erik's grin widened and he placed his arm down. However, his eyes moved away from Christine. That was when she spotted Antoinette heading towards Erik a few yards away from where Christine was standing. Antoinette hurried across the street and Erik greeted her with the same grin.

Christine felt embarrassment flood her cheeks with its heat and redness and quickly looked away. She saw Raoul watching her with an amused smirk and she glared back.

"Don't say a word." She hissed at him.

"That's not fair, you always tease me when I do something embarrassing." Raoul teased, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That wasn't embarrassing, that was humiliating." Christine replied. She placed her hand over her face, trying to will away the redness she probably had.

"Well, I think he saw you anyway. Look." Raoul told her.

Reluctantly, Christine turned towards where Erik and Antoinette had been and saw that they were still there. Erik was again waving his hand. Christine looked around first but when she saw that there was no one waving back or heading towards them, she turned back.

Erik gave her a look that said, "yes, I'm waving at you." Christine quickly waved back again and Erik stopped when she did. He sent her a grin before turning away and he and Antoinette walked away.

"I think that was worse because now I know that he saw me making such a bad mistake." Christine remarked. She began to walk again and Raoul followed after her for a bit then came to walk by her side.

"True. Now he probably thinks you're weird." Raoul agreed.

Christine groaned and placed her head in her hands. She was not worried about bumping into anything since Raoul would move or stop her if there was something.

"You know, if we weren't already polyamorous, I think I would feel jealous." Raoul announced thoughtfully. "You're acting like how you did when you liked that boy our freshman year. It looks like someone has a crush on a certain genius."

Christine shook her head. "I don't know him enough to have a crush. Besides, we both agree on who we want to bring in. I know you don't like him, so he's not an option."

"While I appreciate the thought, that doesn't stop your thoughts does it?" Raoul asked with a leer. "Even I will admit that he's nice to look at. I just don't like his attitude."

Christine glanced away, placing her hands back by her sides. She tried to keep her expression neutral when she answered. "I refuse to answer that."

Raoul let out a laugh. "That's basically saying yes!"

Christine pushed him and he laughed harder.

 **There! I hope that was an enjoyable read! If it was, be sure to leave a review! I'll try to get the next chapter as I planned. It'll be in Raoul's POV! Review! :)**


	3. Who the Heck Set Off the Fire Alarm?

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Who the Heck Set Off the Fire Alarm?

Raoul groaned, reaching out to shut his alarm off but when he hit the button and the alarm continued, he opened his eyes. Outside was dark, he turned to his clock and saw that it was 3am. The alarm continued and Raoul finally realized that it was the fire alarm.

With another groan, Raoul stood up and put his jacket on and pocketed his ID and room key. He sent a look over to Nadir's side but didn't see the older man. Raoul shrugged made his way out, covering his ears to keep out the piercing alarm as he did.

As soon as he got outside, Raoul felt a gush of cold wind and shivered. He pulled his coat closer to himself and made his way down the stairs. A lot of the dorm was already outside, he spotted a couple looking like they had to rush out of the shower with their wet hair and robes. Raoul felt pity for them, though who the heck took a shower at 3 in the morning? He soon spotted Christine and Meg and headed towards them.

Meg was the one to see him first, no surprise since Christine was looking down, slouching as she tried to keep herself warm. Meg waved at him and nudged Christine. Christine tilted her head up and grinned weakly.

"Nice night we're having." Christine stuttered from the cold.

Raoul sighed and pulled Christine into his arms to warm her up. He flinched slightly at how cold Christine already was but tightened his hold and placed his chin on top of her head.

"Do they know if it's a drill or real thing yet?" He asked.

Meg shook her head. "They would never have a drill this late, especially when it's this cold out. I think it had to do with the kitchen."

"Great, just great. I have a damn quiz tomorrow! Right in the morning!" Raoul complained. "Who the hell would be this stupid?!"

Meg gained a sheepish look but didn't say anything. It was about 20 minutes before the firefighters showed up. At which point, Raoul had also began to shiver from the cold. Meg had been one of the few smart ones and had grabbed her jacket and blanket when she left her room.

"This is ridiculous!" Raoul hissed to Christine and Meg. "This is making me hate October even more!"

"I hear that." Christine whispered, Raoul felt her breath against his neck. "Though I would say the cold weather. I wouldn't blame the month, Raoul."

More and more people started to complain about the fact that everything was taking forever, Raoul being one of them. He was cold, tired, and had a quiz that morning. That was not a good combination for his mood.

Finally, after an hour of waiting outside, the firefighters came out and there was a group of students behind them, along with the RA, Resident Advisor, for the top floor with the kitchen. Raoul almost choked in disbelief at the people who had caused this.

"Raoul." He hear Meg say in warning.

"What is it?" Christine asked upon noticing Meg's tone and how Raoul stiffened. She looked up and caught sight of a certain trio. "Oh, crap. Raoul don't say anything."

Raoul didn't hear what either of them said. All he focus was on the fact that he had to wait outside in the cold at 3 in the frickin morning because of a certain masked man. It had been a few weeks since Christine had met him, and Raoul still didn't like Erik as much as before. If anything, his feelings towards the older man had probably gotten worse.

Erik was currently being escorted away from the building with Nadir and Antoinette close behind him. The RA's came and announced that the incident was taken care of and that everyone was allowed back inside. Raoul could hear the sighs of relief and shortly after the sounds of people walking back inside. He could feel Christine tugging on his arm to get him to move but he ignored her.

Instead, Raoul made his way to where the firefighters were talking to the trio. He heard Christine and Meg call his name but he didn't turn around and he soon heard the sound of their footsteps behind him.

By the time Raoul got to the trio, the firefighters had gone away. He stopped a few feet from Erik, who glanced up startled at someone in front of him.

"You idiot!" Raoul exclaimed fiercely. "What the hell did you do to the kitchen? And why in the world would you be using the kitchen in the frickin first place this late at night?!"

Erik stared at him with shocked eyes, the golden shade almost glowing under the light. If Raoul wasn't so mad, he probably would've found it enchanting. Erik opened his mouth to speak, but Raoul stopped him by pointing his finger at him.

What happened next caught Raoul off guard.

When Raoul reached forward to point his finger, he had gotten closer to Erik than he thought, only a few inches away. However, as he did, Erik flinched back violently. It was hard enough that Erik stumbled back and collided into Nadir who grabbed him to keep him upright. Erik's eyes were impossibly wide and he was suddenly panting in quick breaths.

Dumbfounded, Raoul's anger disappeared as he watched Nadir tightened his hold on Erik's arms to keep him from moving while Antoinette rushed in front of him and took Erik's face in her hands, her thumbs stroking the bottom rim of the mask.

"Shh…Erik, he wasn't going to do that." Antoinette hushed smoothly.

"I know." Erik answered weakly, his breathing calming down slightly. "It took me by surprise, that's all."

"I think you should leave."

Raoul turned his head and saw Meg with a serious expression.

"What the hell just…?" he began to ask but Meg quickly shook her head.

"Leave." Meg repeated more firmly.

Raoul felt his hand being taken and glanced at Christine, who was biting her lip in nerves. He wanted to demand answers as towards what happened but knew that he wasn't going to get any. He squeezed Christine's hand and began to pull her away from the others to go back inside.

However, Raoul couldn't help but take one last glance at the group. Erik was no longer being held by his two friends and they were all talking calmly to one another. Raoul saw to it that Christine made it to her room before going back to his.

He laid down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. The rest of the night, Raoul had trouble sleeping, not being able to get rid of the sight of a shaken Erik out of his mind.

"Why in the world didn't you say anything?" Antoinette asked when Raoul and Christine had gone back inside.

"He did not exactly give me time to tell him." Erik replied with a shrugged. He felt a lot calmer now that Mr. de Chagny was out of sight. He was embarrassed by his reaction as it was, he did not want to add to his shame by having to deal with the boy longer than necessary.

"Yeah, well, you could've made time." Antoinette huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were not the one who caused the fire."

"Maybe not, but he probably would have blamed me no matter what. He does not like me." Erik told her coolly. "Besides, I took the blame for it with the school, I do not think it matters if the students think this too. I will not have you get into any trouble, my dear, not when there is something I can do about it."

Antoinette smirked in defeat. "If it's you, the school would let it go, however, me and Nadir are regular students and will take the regular consequences."

"At least it was not a true fire." Nadir pointed out. "There was no damage, they have no reason to punish any of us. It was the smoke that set the alarm off."

"I would not say that we are completely without punishment." Erik remarked thoughtfully. "I'm banned from using the kitchen for the rest of the semester because of it."

"That and Mr. de Chagny gave you quite the scolding." Antoinette stated with a frown.

"Yes, why exactly is that?" Nadir questioned with a frown.

Erik shrugged. "I have not the faintest idea. Since the beginning, I do not think he has liked me very much. Why? I do not know."

And he truly did not. Erik sees the younger boy three times a week and had gotten from him that he was not liked by the younger almost from the first day of class. Shame too because he thought the boy was smart. Certainly smarter than some of the other students that were in the class. Erik knew that Mr. de Chagny was not a music major, but appreciated the effort he put into the class even though it was only a requirement class for him. Considering the fact that he was also Meg's friend, made Erik want to get along with him, but the other seemed determined to not have that happen

Speaking of Meg, Erik turned his head and saw Meg standing a little ways from them. He held out his hand for her to take which she did.

"And how's my pearl doing? You are certainly one of the cleverer students to have thought of bringing a blanket out with you." Erik stated.

"I knew that Anton was going to try cooking tonight and was prepared." Meg remarked with a causal tone but with a grin on her lips.

Erik chuckled at hearing that and Antoinette's protest behind him. Meg squeezed his hand.

"You feeling better?" she inquired with a tone that left no room for lying.

Erik nodded. "Perfectly alright now, Mr. de Chagny took me by surprise that is all. Come on, let us head back inside. You need your rest."

Meg frowned but let the subject go. To make sure she does not change her mind, Erik quickly pulled for Meg to follow him and led her back to her room. The others followed and Erik gave Meg a kiss on her forehead in goodnight. After that, the trio went to Antoinette's floor and spoke their goodnights to each other.

"I wish I could find out why the boy does not like you." Nadir told Erik as they headed to their floor.

Erik shook his head. "It is fine. If you push, that might make him more hostile towards me. Plus it could ruin your own relationship."

Nadir snorted. "What relationship? We hardly ever see each other as it is. Heck, you probably see him more than I do every week with that class of yours alone."

"Well, when you put it like that…" Erik trailed off. He felt Nadir place his hand on his shoulder and gave him a side glance.

"That boy made a mistake today. He was angry and did not know what his actions would do. That much I know about him. He was not trying to remove your mask, Erik." Nadir declared firmly.

Erik gave his friend a small grin. "I know. Still, it is hard to stop a reflex that was the result of one's childhood."

Nadir let out a sigh and removed his hand. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Now I cannot help but think he does not like me even more." Erik remarked as they got to his room. "At least Meg's other friend appears to not feel the same."

"Miss Daae? I guess. She's certainly more polite than the boy in any case." Nadir stated.

Erik snorted. "Can you stop calling him 'boy'? He's only a couple years younger than us."

"Every male who is fresh out of high school is a boy. They have no idea what the real world is like yet." Nadir deadpanned.

This time, Erik let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Goodnight Nadir."

"Goodnight." Nadir replied with a single nod before heading towards his room.

With a sigh, Erik unlocked his door and stepped inside. Because he was on scholarship, the school had given him his own room. Usually that is only for RA's but Erik was grateful that the school made an exception. Though he knew that it was only because of his…fame, Erik supposed, that he was allowed such a things.

However, he would take what he could get. He was grateful that his first class did not start until mid-morning and, as a result, could sleep in to make up for tonight's incident.

Erik quickly changed and when he did, he made to move to take his mask off but paused. His mind went back to Mr. de Chagny suddenly reaching out and how he had flinched back. He knew the next second that it had not been the other's intention to remove the mask, but he had still recoiled.

Erik had too many bad memories of people's reactions to his face to ever want someone to ever see it again. His dear Antoinette, his pearl Meg, and his best friend Nadir did not count towards that. They had seen him and accepted him for who he was, face and all. However, Erik could never ask for any more people to be accepting.

Sure he had hoped when he was younger, but that long ago stopped. Too many people have seen and became disgusted and/or terrified. Then he had gotten his mask and people suddenly became curious. They told him they liked him and he would reveal himself, only to have the illusion of such feelings broken in those people. Therefore, he developed the reflex of withdrawing when someone got too close to his mask.

Still, Erik wished that he no longer had such a reaction and to have such a weakness revealed to Meg's friends was disgraceful in his opinion. Hopefully, they would never bring the subject up. Maybe then, he could pretend…

With a sigh, Erik took off his mask and placed it by his bed. He went to sleep shortly after.

 **There we go! Another chapter up! Hope everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to leave a review! They make me extremely happy! Next POV will be in Christine's. See ya next time!**


	4. Why Do I Get Into These Situations?

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Why Do I Keep Getting Into These Situations?

Christine got up from the computer she was using and went over to the printer. She was not happy that she was there this late into the night, but she knew she should be grateful that such a thing was offered at the school.

She had been up late as it is, trying to complete another assignment for one of her classes. When she had finished and started to get ready to go to bed, she had suddenly realized that she hadn't printed out an assignment for another class that was due tomorrow morning. Though technically by that time, it was that morning. Christine had rushed to get the bare items that she needed and practically sprinted to the 24hr computer center on campus. She was super grateful that her dorm was close by and had made it within a few minutes.

The boy behind the counter had given her a look as she had pushed the door open and panted in place a few moments.

She ignored him and went over to one of the rooms that held a printer. Christine felt gross because she had broken out in sweat from her sprint but the weather had been freezing. Not a good combination, but she tried to not think about it.

As she walked inside the room, she briefly saw one person in the room, but didn't notice who it was. Too focused on the task at hand. There were two rows of computers that shared a set of tables back to back. Christine went to the side that held the printer against its wall and sat down.

She brought her USB drive out and quickly signed onto the computer to get her file. Opening it up, Christine set it to print and gave it the okay to do so. She made it to the printer and took out her ID, sliding it through the computer to get her file. Her account opened up and she tapped the file that she needed and gave the okay to print it.

The printer came to life and she leaned against the table that the printer was on to wait. Yawning, she covered her mouth with her hand before shaking her head to wake herself up.

Suddenly, about halfway through her printout, the printer made a noise that didn't at all sound very good to Christine. Her fears were confirmed when the printer stopped working.

Christine let out a soft groan but wondered if she could fix it. She didn't know much about printers, especially the monster size ones on campus but she knew how to check paper. She opened up all the draws of the printer but no luck with that. All of them were filled. She glanced at the screen but it wasn't out of ink either. Not wanting to go out and get the boy at the front desk, she began to panic. She needed her assignment!

"Miss Daae?" A deep voice like velvet spoke behind her.

She turned around and was right in her guess that it was Erik. He was standing a few feet away from her and when he had her attention, he gestured towards the printer.

"Need help?" he asked.

Christine nodded gratefully. "If you can get this thing to work, I'll owe you one."

She saw the twitch of Erik's lips as he fought back a smile. "That will not be necessary. I'll consider it my good deed of the day."

Christine watched as Erik began to mess with the printer and couldn't help but remember what had happened a few days ago. Erik had apparently been the one to cause a fire in their dorm kitchen and Raoul had confronted him about it. However, when Raoul had made a move that got too close to the older, Erik had recoiled almost violently. She thought about that moment, how impossibly wide Erik's eyes had gotten, and how he looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

She didn't know much about panic attacks but she certainly knew that what Raoul did caused Erik to react like that.

After Raoul had taken Christine back inside that night, she had given him a scolding for his actions. She wasn't just upset about Erik's reaction, though that was a big part of it, she was also mad that Raoul would do such a thing in the first place. Raoul had been quiet through her lecture making her believe that he had been taken off guard by Erik's reaction as well. With that in mind, Christine had felt that he regretted what he did and had kissed him goodnight.

They hadn't talked about it since and while Raoul had class with Erik once since the incident, Christine had not heard or seen the older man since. Now he was a few feet away from her and she was glad that it didn't feel awkward. She was sure that Erik wanted to forget about the incident and she was curious, but she would let it go.

"There!" Erik suddenly announced, bringing Christine out of her thoughts. The printer whirled back to life and started to print again.

"What did you do?!" Christine demanded in excitement.

Erik shrugged and lifted up something that was in his hand. Christine saw that it was a torn up paper.

"Simple enough, it was jammed." Erik explained. He tossed the paper towards the recycle bin and it landed inside.

Christine felt relief make her shoulders sag and she sighed. "Thank you."

Erik glanced at her. "What are you doing up this late anyway?"

Christine felt the heat come onto her cheeks at being the focus of Erik's gaze. She really needed to start getting use to that if she was to ever be able to be around him. But the golden eyes were intense, even if their owner wasn't doing anything.

"I was up anyway, had to finish an assignment. Then I realized that I had this thing due tomorrow and hadn't printed it out."

"Why didn't you do it in the morning?" Erik asked sounding genuinely confused, his head tilting to the side.

Oh my gosh, that's adorable! Christine thought and turned her gaze away to hide her blush.

"It's my first class, right at 8am." Christine answered. "I would rather stay up later than get up earlier."

"Ah, I can understand that." Erik's voice replied.

Christine heard movement and Erik walked passed her. He made his way back to one of the computers on the other side and picked up a bag. She realized that he had been in the room the whole time.

Now she felt like an idiot.

"Since that is done, I have to get going." Erik stated as he headed towards the door. When he got there, he turned his head back and sent her a grin. "Goodnight, Miss Daae."

"I think it's technically morning." Christine countered with a grin.

"Then good morning it is." Erik replied easily and walked out of the room.

When he was gone, Christine let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She placed her hand on her chest where her heart was and felt it pounding inside.

I do not have a crush on Erik! I don't know him enough for that! Christine thought to herself.

But she knew that wasn't true. She has had crushes on people before that she knew about less than Erik. Those never came to anything because she had been with Raoul and most of them were before the two of them had decided to be polyamorous. After that, they both had to be open to their potential third partner. They had done it before a few times in high school, luckily, no hearts were ever broken which would have made things extremely awkward for everyone involved.

The end of their senior year was their last partner, a girl that wasn't happy when they had broken up with her. She was too much of a drama queen and they both felt that she wasn't serious. Raoul and Christine were towards each other, however, they were looking for a partner that would complete them. They wanted something more permanent.

There had been a couple people, but they both needed to agree and one of them wouldn't. Then came Erik.

Christine hadn't felt like this towards anyone in a while, and that's before she knows him. She knew that a part of her feelings could be coming from the fact that she was a fan of his musical, but she didn't think that's all it was. She knew it didn't matter though, nothing would come of it. Raoul didn't like Erik therefore the crush would only remain one.

Damnit Raoul! Why did he have to think Erik was a jerk?! He doesn't seem like it, and she knew for a fact that if it wasn't for that, Raoul would be into Erik, at least in the physical aspect.

Raoul had a type, and Erik had the legs to match his type perfectly. She was more of a hand/shoulder person herself, but to each their own.

The room was abruptly silent, and Christine realized that the printer had stopped.

She quickly turned towards the machine, worried that there was another jam, but she saw the first page she needed for her assignment and grinned. She quickly grabbed up the papers and went back to her computer. She signed out of it and took out her USB. She placed everything together and began to walk out of the room.

Christine paused in the doorway and glanced back at the room for a reason she didn't know. She scanned the room and at first didn't see anything. However, her eyes landed on something sticking out of one of the computer towers and recognized it as a USB.

It was at the computer Erik had been using.

She went over to the computer and pulled the drive out. She made her way out of the room and started to head towards the front desk to turn in the USB to the boy working the desk. As she got closer, she slowed down her pace as an idea came to her. Christine stared down at the drive in her hand for a moment and then clenched it. This might be a bad idea, but she had a way to talk to Erik again. With that in mind, Christine picked up her pace again.

She walked right pass the front desk and went outside, the USB in her pocket.

 **And got another one done! I'm in a great mood because it's October and Halloween is my favorite holiday! I'm looking forward to all the Halloween themes around. Hmmm….anyway, hope the read was a good one. If it was be sure to leave a review! Next chapter will be in Erik's POV. See ya next time!**


	5. Rejected

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Rejected

"Damn." Erik whispered under his breath.

"What?" Nadir questioned, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

Erik sighed and straightened from his bag. "Apparently I left my USB at the computer center last night."

"That sucks." Nadir stated.

Erik rolled his eyes. "Not very helpful, Nadir."

Nadir shrugged then yelped as Antoinette elbowed him in his side. Nadir sent her a scowl which she ignored.

"At least you know where it is." She countered, going back to her own lunch. "Make the trip after this and you'll have it."

With a shrug, Erik went back to his lunch, momentarily forgetting about the drive. He was glad that it was a Friday. That meant he could spend the weekend working on his own music without any distractions.

He'll have to do everything for next week first…

Erik mentally sighed. Sometimes, he regretted coming to college, even if he had everything paid for. The classes took a lot of time away from what he wants to do, which was to create music. It was such a hassle to have to create short pieces and have to turn it in for an assignment. Sure it was easy to do, Erik believed that the staff would be impressed with anything he came up with. His first year there he had put that to the test and the result only confirmed his belief. After that, he had stopped trying hard. Of course, he completed all the assignments but putting a piece of his soul into them? Not since that first year. He saved that for pieces he made during his free time.

Erik heard laughter and glanced up to see that it was Antoinette, but Nadir had his hand covering his mouth which meant that he was smiling and probably trying to hold back a laugh. The two of them were the reason Erik was there in the first place. They had gone to college while Erik spent a year traveling.

He had not liked being without his two friends and came back to be with them.

There are a bunch of rumors that he was in a relationship with one of them and that's the reason why he had gone to college. The three of them found amusement in that sometimes. It was amazing how nosy people could be about someone's life and are willing to believe outrageous rumors as a result. They assume, they do not know.

Erik stood up from the table they were at, causing Antoinette and Nadir to look at him.

"I'm going to see if I can find the USB at the computer center, that's where it's supposed to be."

"And if it's not?" Nadir questioned.

Erik shrugged. "Let us hope that it is there. I will see the two of you later."

He threw away the trash from his lunch and headed over to the center. On his way, he saw curious glances aimed at him and other's that were more…Erik didn't know the word but he sort of felt dirty because of them. Like he was on display…

Erik quickly mentally shook himself. He didn't want to linger on such thoughts. Besides, the people behind those gazes would be disillusioned if they were to ever see his face. The mask made people curious, but all of them ended up the same. They always ended up trying to take his mask away. Erik refused to let anyone come close enough to try.

He got to the center and went to the room he had been in the previous night. There were more people using the computers, but it was the middle of the day. He skimmed over to the computer he used but did not find an USB. Hoping that someone had turned it in, he went to the front desk where a young woman was at and asked about it. However, she checked the lost & found but it was not there.

With a sigh, Erik thanked the woman and walked out.

He had been certain that he had left it there but maybe it had fallen out of his bag somehow. He did not want to think about the option of someone taking it and keeping it.

The drive itself would not be useful to anyone unless they took the same classes as he did. Erik used that USB for his school work and that was it. It would be a setback, if he never got it back, but it would not be the end of the world.

That would have been if it was his other drive.

Erik frowned as he tried to think of what to do next. He did not think he would have the time to retrace his steps before his class. He needed to do it, but it would have to wait.

He sighed. He did not want to wait, but made his way towards his class.

When Erik got there, he saw that the professor and serval students were already inside. He instantly went towards the front and placed his bag on the table next to the podium.

"Erik good that you're here early, I want to talk to you about something." The professor, Webber, stated and gestured for him to get closer.

Erik went to the podium where Webber was setting up the projector and lesson for the day.

"Since we are coming close to the mid-term phase, I think you should start tutoring some of the students that are having a hard time." Webber informed him.

Erik blinked. "I had not realized there was anyone that would need such a thing."

"It's not a lot." Webber added with a grin. "A couple, no more than that and I want you to offer it to them. If they decline, that's their problem, but I want them to know that it's an option."

"Then, why are you not making it a general announcement? For everyone?" Erik inquired.

Webber smirked. "Because I know some of them would lie to get you to tutor them and that would be a waste of time for both of you."

Erik felt his cheeks warm underneath his mask and was grateful that said mask hid him. By the smirk getting wider on Webber's face, Erik knew that he knew.

He cleared his throat. "Who are the students I need to talk to?"

"Jeanette and Raoul. I'm sure they'll find your help…Is something wrong?"

Erik blinked, realizing that his eyes must have given away something. "Ah, are you speaking about Mr. de Chagny?"

"We have one Raoul in the roster, Erik." Webber frowned. "Will that be a problem?"

Only the fact that he hates me for an unknown reason, Erik thought but instead made himself grin. "Not at all. I will speak with both of them after class. Can you call for them once class is finished?"

Webber nodded and focused back on the computer.

Erik glanced over at the classroom and saw that majority of the students were inside, there were always a couple stranglers when the class begun. He spotted Mr. de Chagny towards the back. Their eyes met for a moment, and then the younger scowled before turning his head away.

Erik sighed under his breath.

Webber began the class and Erik went to the table where his bag sat. Webber had given him the homework from earlier this week to grade and he needed to get that done. As he worked, he listened in on the lesson, it was a good lesson. Erik has found Webber to be a strict but fair professor, which is one of the reasons why he had taken up being his TA.

However, while Webber was a good teacher, he did not have good students.

Erik's hand twitched slightly at hearing the sound of a particular girl's voice making a comment. She was always able to talk during the class at some point of another, though Erik knew that she did not care about the class at all. He can tell when people actually want to be in the class or not, most of them do not and Erik can understand that. It is considered an easy 'A' course for those that try and it meets a core requirement.

But he cannot stand it when people are in the class because of _him_.

And he knows for a fact that there are serval students that are under that category.

Every time, one of those students would talk, his hand would twitch. He did not mean to do it but it was sort of a reflex by now. A couple times, he would glance to the side at Webber to see his expression. Most of the time, the professor would have a patient smirk on his face and Erik would go back to his grading with a scowl.

Webber always had too much fun with that knowledge, Erik could not help but wonder sometimes if he was asked to be his TA for some entertainment.

Erik certainly would not put it pass the man.

Class was over and the students began to pack up their things.

"Hold up!" Webber called out. Everyone paused to look at the professor. "I need Raoul and Jeanette to stay behind!"

Everyone whose name was not called went back to heading out. Erik saw the nervous expression on Jeanette's face and the confusion on Raoul's. Erik stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder, grabbing the graded papers and handing them over to Webber, who took them gratefully.

When the two students got to the podium, Webber grinned.

"There's no need to be nervous, I want to talk about an opportunity." Webber began. He leaned his weight against the podium and crossed his arms. "The two of you are not failing, but both of your grades could be better. The midterm is coming up and it's a big part of your final grade."

Webber nodded towards Erik, and Erik sort of wish he had not since the other two's attention moved to him. "If you two are willing, Erik can tutor you. If you make a decent grade on the midterm, I'll be more comfortable with you doing the final."

"Tutoring?" Jeanette asked thoughtfully. She turned her eyes away as she gave the idea some thought.

Erik did not mind Jeanette. Unlike some of the others, he could tell that she genuinely cared about the class and wanted to do a good job in it.

"What happens if we don't want it?" Mr. de Chagny asked with a slight glare towards Erik.

Webber raised his hands in surrender. "Then you won't get tutoring, simple as that. I'm not forcing this on either of you. I wanted you to know about the opportunity. I called the two of you aside for a reason."

Raoul looked away and Erik tilted his head to the side as he waited.

A part of him wanted the younger to decline the offer. Erik knew that Mr. de Chagny did not like him and would therefore make any interaction between them uncomfortable as it has been in the past, few as they were. However, Erik was also curious about why the younger did not like him and might be able to find out the reason if he did accept the tutoring.

"I think I'm going to take my chances doing it on my own." Raoul declared finally.

Erik felt a little disappointed by the decision but did not let it show. Webber nodded.

"That's fine, but if you don't do well on the mid-term, I want you to reconsider, okay?"

Raoul nodded back and walked away from them, leaving the three. Erik guessed he will not be finding out why after all.

"What about you?" Erik asked, focusing on Jeanette.

Jeanette shrugged. "I wouldn't mind the extra help. I've never been good at studying."

Erik grinned. "I will help you with that."

Mr. de Chagny might not have taken up the offer of being tutored, but Erik was more than happy to help Jeanette. He did not know what the younger's problem was with him, but Erik was not going to let that bother him for long.

Now if only he could find out what happened to his USB drive.

 **And the next one it up! I hope everyone enjoyed a little bit of what goes on in Erik's head. :) If you liked it, be sure to leave a review! Next chapter will be in Christine's POV. See ya next time!**


	6. Got It Bad

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Got It Bad

"Please Meg! I need your help!" Christine begged her friend, clasping her hands together for emphasis.

Meg crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't see why you can't give me the USB and have me return it to Erik."

"Because I want to give it back to him!" Christine countered. She mentally cringed at her tone. She sounded like a preteen trying to get her way. She was way too old to act like that.

Meg stared at her for a few moments, enough that Christine started to want to shift on her feet but forced herself to stand still. Finally Meg shrugged.

"Yeah okay, I can see where Erik's at." Meg stated, grabbing her phone from her pocket and began messing with it.

Christine could've slumped in relief. But now that she knew she was going to see Erik again, her heartbeat began to get faster. And it was this soon after she had last seen him, though she knew that was partly her fault since she had taken his USB drive instead of turning it in.

"And don't think I don't know what you're doing." Meg suddenly accused. Christine startled and Meg have her a teasing smirk. "You like Erik."

Christine didn't say anything but she was certain that the blush that came to her cheeks was answer enough. Either way, Meg's smirk grew.

"I don't have a problem with that, Erik's a great guy, even though Raoul doesn't seem to believe that." Meg frowned thoughtfully at the end than shrugged. "But if you break his heart, we can't be friends anymore."

Christine was sure that her face will never hold a normal shade of color again. "I'm not trying to date him, Meg! I'm with Raoul!"

Meg shrugged again. "Yeah, but aren't the two of you polyamorous? I know for a fact that if Raoul was okay with it, you two would totally be going after Erik."

Before Christine could retort, Meg's phone went off in a text message alert and she focused on it. As Meg was doing that, Christine tried to calm her pounding heart. She shouldn't have gotten as worked up as she did but she also knew that Meg was right.

Meg was one of the few people that knew about her and Raoul's relationship and had been surprisingly accepting of the idea from the beginning. She had even tried to help them meet people. It had been beyond awkward but the effort had only made Christine fonder towards the other girl. At this point, she really shouldn't be surprised by Meg knowing their…types.

"Okay!" Meg abruptly exclaimed, causing Christine to startle. "Erik said that he going to be in the library in a few minutes but we were welcome to join him."

Christine smiled. "Thank you, Meg."

Meg smirked while she grabbed her bag. "Don't thank me yet, the threat is still a valid one."

Christine rolled her eyes but grabbed her bag too, making sure that the USB was secure in one of the pockets. "I doubt you have to worry about that. Raoul isn't one to change his mind about a person easily."

"You never know." Meg countered as they walked out of the dorm room and then out of the building. "Like I said, Raoul doesn't know the real Erik, if he did, I'm sure he would change his mind."

Christine raised her eyebrow at her friend. "Now you sound like you're trying to set us up. Want to play matchmaker?"

Meg laughed then shivered as they a brisk wind blew through them. "Oooh, freezing out here! But no, I'm not trying to set you guys up, I will set you guys up!"

"The heck?!" Christine laughed as she adjusted her own jacket to zip it up. "When and where did that come from? You never had such an interest before."

"Okay, you caught me!" Meg held her hands up in surrender. "To be honest, I just want Raoul to stop thinking poorly about Erik. But hey, if it turns out more than that, I get some awesome bragging rights!"

"Oh my gosh! You're terrible!" Christine snickered, but couldn't help but feel relieved to have someone on her side. She wasn't expecting anything other than, hopefully, friendship from Erik because of Raoul, but knowing that her best friend would help her was encouraging.

They walked a few more minutes before they got to the library. Christine was instantly warmed up as she walked through the door. Quickly taking off her beanie, she ran her fingers through her hair to make it less flat. When she caught sight of Meg giving her a knowing smirk, Christine felt her cheeks warm up.

"I am not primping!" she protested.

"The fact that you assumed that that's what I was thinking says a lot already." Meg countered, taking off her own beanie.

Christine wasn't primping, she wasn't, but she couldn't think of anything to argue against Meg's argument. She scowled because of it and Meg chuckled next to her. She elbowed her gently in her side and Meg replied by doing the same thing. Their eyes met and both of them giggled as they glanced away.

"Come on, I bet Erik's already there." Meg stated eventually.

"Did he tell you where?" Christine asked, walking behind Meg.

Meg grinned. "I don't have to, he has a little corner in the library he likes to use for classwork."

Christine followed her and they ended up taking the elevator to the 6th floor. It was the top floor and the space was almost eerie with the silence that engulfed the room.

"He likes the quiet." Meg remarked offhand. "You don't really get that, except here."

"Bet it's not like that during finals week." Christine contradicted.

"No." Meg agreed simply. "But, he never has to study for his exams, spends the time working on his music in the music rooms."

Christine let out a dismayed scoff. "Lucky."

They walked through the book stacks until they came to one of the corners. Instead of walls, the library had full windows, giving the person a good view of the campus, especially at that height. Christine saw a few tables that were empty and soon spotted one that was occupied.

The person's back was to them but Christine recognized them.

Meg grabbed her wrist to stop her and Christine gave her a questioning look. Meg smirked in answer and placed her finger to her lips. She let go of Christine's wrist and began to slowly make her way towards Erik. Christine realized that Meg was going to try to scare him and couldn't help but be interested with the results.

Meg got within a few feet of Erik, who didn't seem to have noticed anything, her hands coming up to pounce when…

"Hello, Meg." Erik stated softly that Christine almost didn't hear him, not pausing in his whatever he was writing.

Meg immediately slumped, letting out an exaggerated sigh than straightened with a scowl. "How did you know it was me?"

Christine was at an angle behind them that she could see Erik's cheek move in a grin.

"I knew you were coming and you're the only one that still tries to catch me off guard." Erik explained kindly. "You almost had me, I'll give you that."

Meg came around the table Erik was at and sat down in the chair across from him with a huff. "What gave me away?"

"Your breathing." Erik answered, still not pausing in his writing. "You were holding your breath, but before you got to me, your breath stuttered."

Meg rolled her eyes and slumped down in the seat. "Damn it."

"And I believe that's Miss Daae behind me?" Erik continued with the same calm tone.

Christine jerked a little at the sound of her name.

"Yep." Meg answered and waved her hand towards Christine to come forward. "Are you going to say hi or what?"

Christine opened her mouth to speak but Erik beat her to it.

"Of course, I am." Erik replied, finally moving his head up to glance at Meg. Then those golden eyes were suddenly focused on her. "Hello, Miss Daae."

Oh, Meg had been speaking to Erik. Christine made sure her expression didn't show her embarrassment and gave Erik a smile. "Hi Erik."

"Meg, told me that you had something you wanted to tell me?" Erik questioned in curiosity.

Straight to the point then.

"Well, not exactly." Christine stated, making her way to the table. She stopped next to Meg and swung her bag off her shoulder to place it on the desk. She unzipped the bag and grabbed the USB. "I think you've been looking for this?"

Erik eyes lit up at the sight of the drive and the smile he gained made Christine feel like her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes! Thank you, I had thought that you might have it, given the circumstances. I'm glad that I was right." Erik stated, taking the USB from Christine.

Their hands touched for only a moment, but Christine was overly aware of the touch, a lingering tingle where their skin connected. She pulled her hand away when she could and used it to close up her bag.

"Anything important?" Meg teased.

"Not end-of-the-world important, but it would have been a shame to lose it." Erik answered, holding up the drive. "It has my class work on it."

"That's not end-of-the-world important?" Christine gawked in disbelief.

Erik shrugged and put the USB away in his own bag. "Like I said, it would have been a shame, but nothing I couldn't have done again."

"I sort of hate you." Meg grumbled. "If I lost my USB, I would frinkin die!"

Erik chuckled. "I somehow doubt that."

"What are you doing now?" Christine asked, looking at the pile of papers on the table.

"Getting ready to tutor a student." Erik announced. "Smith had a couple students that he wanted to offer tutoring but only one of them accepted. I'm meeting her soon."

Christine frowned, the way Erik said that was… "Was Raoul one of the students?"

Erik stopped his writing but didn't say anything for a moment. Though his pause was enough to give Christine her answer.

"I offered the tutoring to Mr. de Chagny as well," Erik eventually began. "But as you can imagine, he declined the offer."

"Really? That's news to us." Meg stated in surprise. She turned to Christine. "Did you know about this?"

Christine shook her head, than glanced at Erik. "What happens to him now?"

"Nothing" Erik reassured. "Smith had wished for the opportunity to be presented to him, but he did not need to take it. Though if he does poorly on the mid-term, than Smith would probably try again."

"That sounds fair though." Meg countered, placing her head in her hand. "Wish my professors gave me such chances."

Erik gave a small smirk. "They do, you usually have to go to them though."

Meg groaned. "I don't want to _talk_ to my professors!"

"It's good advice." Erik argued. "A lot of professors work with those that just talk to them."

"Yeah well, with my luck I would get a professor that doesn't give a dame about their student's problems." Meg grumbled, placing her head on the table.

"Apparently, Smith came to Raoul though and he still didn't take the offer." Christine pointed out and automatically wished she hadn't.

"Yes," Erik replied softly. Christine saw Meg sending her a glare from her spot and inwardly cringed. "And somehow, I believe that was because of me."

Erik hesitated for a second than continued. "Miss Daae, could you tell me what I had done to make him hostile?"

"I, well…" Christine shifted in place uncomfortably and bit her lip. She knew the reason, but she didn't want to tell Erik that it's because Raoul thought he was an arrogant jerk.

"Never mind." Erik stated hurriedly, as if picking up on her discomfort. Then again, it was Erik, so that was entirely possible. "I should not have asked you that, it was forward of me. Please forget the question."

"It's fine." Christine reassured.

Erik looked like he didn't know what to do for a moment and even though the cause wasn't a great one, Christine found it adorable. She had never seen him short of completely calm and put together. It was nice to see that sometimes that wasn't always the case.

Okay, she was crushing, she'll admit it…to herself.

"Erik?" A female voice suddenly asked from behind them.

Christine turned and saw a girl probably a freshman like her, who looked slightly uncomfortable with three gazes on her.

"Jeanette! Glad you could make it." Erik welcomed. He turned to Meg and opened his mouth to speak but Meg waved her hand.

"I got it, your student is here. Come on, Christine. We'll bug him later."

Erik gave Meg a fond grin but didn't say anything to her. Instead he turned to Christine. "I will be seeing you around then, Miss Daae."

"Yeah…" Christine trailed off before grinning. "See you later."

She walked off with Meg, turning her head once to look back. She saw Erik gesturing for the girl, Jeanette, to sit down for them to get started.

Christine was unexpectedly stopped by Meg and she looked at her with a frown. "What?"

Meg smirked. "You got it bad!"

"I do not!" Christine protested.

Meg raised an eyebrow at her then looked pointy ahead of her. Christine glanced in front of her and cursed in her head.

A couple feet in front of her was a book stack. Something she would have walked into if Meg hadn't stopped her.

Christine saw the smirk on Meg's lips and scowled. "Shut up!"

Meg didn't reply, but her smirk got wider.

 **There we go! Sorry for the slight delay, work has been a monster! But hopefully next few weeks I should be able to update on time…wait, hold that thought. I'm going to a convention next weekend! So yeah, might not get to update that weekend but after that!**

 **Like you liked the chapter, be sure to leave me a review, there are greatly loved. Next chapter will be in Raoul's POV. See ya next time!**


	7. Forced to Accept

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Forced to Accept

Raoul groaned and placed his head in his arms on the table in front of him. He heard Christine's chuckle but ignored it. He felt her hand on his head then her fingers through his hair. It felt nice and sort of calmed his mind.

"I have to go." Christine told him sympathetically. "I got an exam in my first class."

Raoul peeked over his arm to stare at Christine who brought her hand from his head and was gathering her things into her bag. "You sure you can't say, I'm suffering here."

Christine gave a soft snort and zipped her bag up. "I like to bring up the saying, 'you reap what you sow.'"

Raoul glared at her. "I wasn't going to ask for his help. Not after I said no the first time."

"I'm sure he wouldn't have minded." Christine countered with an exasperated tone. "He's not someone who would hold it over you."

"Yeah, because the two of you are so close now." Raoul noted almost bitterly.

It's been a couple weeks since Raoul had turned down Professor Webber's offer to get tutored by Erik. Apparently, during these two weeks Christine and Erik had started hanging out more and became friends. Raoul wasn't angry at Christine or anything for being friends with him, but he can admit to a little irritation when he remembers it. It doesn't help that Erik's attitude in class hasn't changed.

Christine sighed and swung her bag over her shoulder. "I'm not getting into another argument about that."

"No, you're right." Raoul submitted with his own sigh. He didn't want to fight Christine, he knew that he was irritated from all the studying. He slumped down for a moment before straightening back up. "It's fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Christine gave him a fond grin. She went to him and pressed her lips to his forehead for a moment then pulled back. "I love you."

"Love you too." Raoul replied with a silly grin. Those words from Christine's mouth still made him giddy every time he hears them. They always cheered him up.

Christine walked away and when she was out of sight, Raoul slumped back down. It was late, but Raoul wasn't comfortable with the material yet. He wasn't confident enough to go to sleep. He heard that doing this the night before the exam actually caused negative results more than positive, but Raoul called bull on that. How was he supposed to get a good night's sleep, if his mind was freaking about his exam?

The answer? He couldn't.

He started to doze and quickly jerked up. He shook his head and patted his cheeks to wake him up. He couldn't fall asleep, he had to study.

Raoul didn't know how long he was studying this time. But the library was quiet, the only sound he heard was the ones caused by him.

What he did know was that he was starting to doze again when he heard a strange noise.

Abruptly, he was hyper aware of his surroundings and he glanced around to see if something changed. He didn't see anything, but then again, the lights are based off a senor and as a result, he wouldn't have been able to see much anyway.

He waited to hear another noise but didn't. He was suspicious but went back to his studying, at least he was awake again.

He heard another noise but this time closer. He looked up again and saw that the lights down the hall were on, but he didn't see the cause. Nerves started to come and he became aware again. From what he knew about his school, it was old, but he wasn't one to believe in ghosts. That was a bunch of nonsense.

But…it was weird that the lights would brighten on their own, especially this late at night.

He placed his pencil on the table and slowly stood up. Raoul felt ridiculous for his pace and caution towards the book stack in question, but he was a person that rather be safe than sorry. He kept himself away from the book stacks to not let the lights brighten because of him. Eventually he got to the book stack right before the one that caused a light to brighten. He didn't want to alarm anyone if they were there.

He didn't want to think that someone wasn't there.

Raoul went into the next aisle and stopped a few feet from where the light was in the other aisle. He couldn't help that the light in his came on but hopefully the person thought they had triggered the light. He heard shuffling on the other side and stopped. Obviously it was a person and Raoul backed away, satisfied.

He went back towards his table, trying to be as quiet as he was on the way. He didn't want to alarm the person, like they had alarmed him. Then again, they had probably seen or heard him as he had been working.

When he got back to the table, he took another look at the light down the hall before going back to work…

"Mr. de Chagny?"

Raoul startled, not realizing he had fallen asleep again. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 3am. He sat up with a yawn than turned to see who had woken him up.

"Erik!" Raoul replied surprised. "The heck you doing here?"

If Erik didn't have his mask, Raoul had a feeling that he would see Erik's eyebrow raised.

"I don't need a lot of sleep and the library is one of the few places on campus open this late." Erik explained. He glanced at what Raoul was doing and frowned. "You should not be up this late studying."

Raoul huffed, he wasn't in the mood to deal with Erik. "Yeah well."

Erik sighed and began to pack up Raoul's things.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Raoul demanded, grabbing Erik's wrist to stop him.

"You are going to go back to your dorm and get some sleep." Erik declared. "At this rate, you are going to fall asleep during the exam and I think that will be worse."

"I'm not going to—" Raoul started to protest.

Erik focused his stare on Raoul and he had to force himself not to swallow. Damn, those eyes could make someone catch on fire with their force. Raoul wonder what they would look like when Erik was turned—nope! Not going there!

"Fine." Raoul relented with a grumble, letting go of Erik's wrist. He knew already that he wasn't going to win this argument.

Erik's lips twitch and his eyes gained an amused spark that Raoul wanted to wipe off his face.

He just didn't know whether he wanted to smack or kiss it off.

Damn it, why did Erik have to be a jerk and good looking.

"Come now." Erik stated softly. All of Raoul's papers were stacked in front of him.

Raoul grumbled some more, but it was mostly for show. He was pretty tired. He stood up and placed everything back in his bag. Erik backed away to let him but watched him silently.

Raoul knew why he was, it was to keep caution towards him. He knew that Erik has never acted arrogant towards Raoul, and the times they have talked, it was Raoul that lost his temper but that didn't matter. A person who could act that way towards any one wasn't worth going after.

If only Raoul could get Christine to see that.

"I'm going." Raoul announced as he zipped up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. He began to walk away but Erik stopped him.

"Mr. de Chagny."

Raoul turned around and Erik hesitated but pressed on. "If you do not do well on the mid-term. I hope that you will reconsider Webber's offer."

Raoul stared at him for a few moment, but couldn't trace anything other than sincerity in Erik's tone.

"We'll see."

"Damn it!"

Christine looked up from her laptop. They were taking care of their homework in one of the food courts on campus and Raoul had decided to take a small break to look up something.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her brows furrowed downwards in concern.

"He got his music score back." Meg snickered and pointed her pen at him. "Apparently, it wasn't as good as he hoped."

"Barely!" Raoul growled in frustration. "I barely missed the score I needed! The prof really couldn't give me those points?!"

Christine and Meg gained a sympathetic expression which caused Raoul to let out a sigh.

"I'm going to have to get tutoring from Erik, aren't I?"

Meg shrugged. "If you want to get a decent grade, yes."

"He's not a bad tutor." Christine remarked cheerfully.

Raoul squinted his eyes. "How would you know?"

"Oh well…" Christine blushed and she wouldn't meet his eyes. "He's been helping me out with a few of my classes. I don't think I would've done as well as I did on some of my mid-terms without it."

Raoul frowned. "But he's not in any of your classes."

"True, but he tested out of all the core classes. That's why he's a junior with Anton and Nadir even though he started a year after them." Meg answered.

"Anyway," Christine steered the conversation back to the topic at hand. She gave Raoul a look. "You don't want to fail a class that's considered an easy 'A,' your GPA will never forgive you. Suck it up and ask for the tutoring."

Raoul pouted some more but he knew that Christine was right. GPA's were a hassle keeping high. One 'C' and you could say goodbye to a high score. Raoul thought the system was such an injustice but it was what it was. Still, that didn't mean he had to like it.

When the next class came, he talked to Webber and agreed to the tutoring. Webber had been delighted to hear the news. Raoul was grateful that Erik had not been present at that moment. Raoul hadn't wanted the older to see him ask for his help, he knew that Webber would tell Erik. Erik had stayed after class and Raoul knew the moment when Webber told him.

Erik had blinked, his eyes going wide before turning to look at him. Their eyes met and then Erik gained a large grin that totally didn't make Raoul's heart skip a beat. Nope, absolutely not.

After that they had started tutoring together and Raoul reluctantly admitted that Christine was right, Erik was a good tutor. He was patient and if Raoul didn't understand something, he would explain it in a different way until he did. He also had the voice that made it easy for Raoul to focus on the material. He knew that he would fall asleep otherwise.

Their first session had been pretty tense. Raoul couldn't help it. Every time he asked a question, he expected Erik to roll his eyes or his hand to twitch like it did during class. Since he kept expecting it, Raoul didn't exactly act friendly towards Erik the whole time. However, the two actions never happened.

Once Erik ended their session, Raoul finally let his curiosity take over.

"Your hand didn't twitch." Raoul remarked, watching Erik start to gather his things.

Erik paused and looked up at him with a confused frown. "What are you talking about?"

Raoul pointed at Erik's left hand. "Your hand twitches during class when students ask questions. It always annoyed me when you do that, like you're somehow better than them for knowing more."

Erik appeared more confused for a second then realization lite in his golden eyes. "Is that why you do not like me? You think I'm some kind of jerk that believes others beneath me?"

Raoul nodded and frowned when Erik let out a relieved chuckle. Erik held up his hand.

"I mean no offense it's just…" Erik paused thoughtfully, bringing his hand down. "Those times my hand reacts to a student. Have you noticed a pattern?"

Raoul's frown deepened. "No?"

"Well, to put it simply. My hand reacts that way to specific students." Erik began. "And those students are the ones that are not there to learn, they are there for me."

Raoul raised an eyebrow. "That sounds more arrogant of you."

"If only it was just that." Erik agreed, throwing Raoul off. "But each of them have approached me multiple times in the past and seem to be unable to take no for an answer. You might even call them fans if you will."

"They know who you really are?" Raoul questioned.

Erik gained a soft grin. "There are people that follow the theatre world, Mr. de Chagny. Yes, they know who I am, and the fact that they are only in my TA course for me instead to learn…well, you can say it irritates me when they try to gain my attention during class."

"Yeah," Raoul had been completely mind blown. He thought back to the class and realized that the times Erik's hand twitched were for the same students. He had completely misunderstood the situation and now he felt like the jerk instead.

"You can't really blame me for thinking you were looking down at them." Raoul stated. "The fact that you sometimes rolled your eyes didn't help."

Erik frowned. "I do not roll my eyes…are you thinking about the times I look at Webber? I sometimes check his reactions to those students, he likes the entertainment it brings him."

Raoul felt his ears heat up in embarrassment. Wow, he really misread the situation. "Yeah, that's probably it. I'm sorry."

"Based off what you told me, I do not blame your assumptions." Erik told him in an earnest tone that made Raoul want to dig a hole and crawl in it. "I'm glad that we got that solved. Shall we meet again on Thursday? Same time?"

"Sure." Raoul had agreed, not being able to look at Erik in the eye at that moment.

"Good."

Raoul heard Erik get up from the table they were at in the library and began to walk away. However, he heard the footsteps stop.

"Oh and Mr. de Chagny?"

Raoul turned around to see Erik a few yards away, with a breathtaking amused smirk on his lips.

"While I'm flattered at the attention, maybe you should focus less on my habits in class and instead focus on the lectures."

While Raoul spluttered, Erik left him with a chuckle. It took Raoul a while before he calmed down the raging blush that had appeared from Erik's comment. He leaned his head on the back of the chair and had grinned.

Man, he wished that he could've kissed the smirk off Erik's lips.

 **There we go! I'm back again. Convention was really fun by the way, but I'm sure my readers care more for an update. Lol. Hoped it was a good read and if it was, be sure to leave a review! They are the energy potions I use to write. ;) Next chapter will be in Christine's POV. Now the fun truly begins. ;) See ya next time!**


	8. Concluding To Attempt

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Concluding To Attempt

"I can't believe it." Christine declared in doubt. She shook her head. "I won't."

"I think you're being a little overdramatic about this." Raoul stated with an amused grin. "I thought you would be happy."

"Maybe after I wrap my head around this." She countered. She pressed her finger to her forehead for a moment then pointed at Raoul. "You're serious?"

"This is the third time I'm telling you and the answer is the same. Yes, I'm serious." Raoul confirmed, his lips twitching as if he was fighting back laughter.

"Can you blame me? I mean, why the sudden shift?" Christine put her hand down and rested it on her table. They were in their dorm's common area and Christine was sitting at one of the tables while Raoul took up the couch. He was behind her and she had to twist around in her seat to look at him.

Raoul shrugged. "I got to know him better."

Christine thought about for a moment, than scowled. "That's what Meg and I have been telling you to do all semester!"

"I didn't want to back then!" Raoul protested. He sat up on the couch, his weight on his elbows. "And you know what? Erik agreed with me! He said that my opinion made sense based off what I saw, so there!"

At the end, Raoul stuck his tongue at her and she instantly replied by doing the same. A second passed, Christine turned away with a sigh.

"I'm surprised, okay? I'm happy that you got over that and won't constantly glare at the mention of his name anymore."

Raoul chuckled and lied back down. He placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess. It couldn't be that much a jump. You know I thought he was hot this whole time, but was a jerk. That parts gone."

"True." Christine agreed, placing her hands on the back of the chair and leaning on it. "He's your type. That much was obvious."

"And he's yours. " Raoul countered, gazing up at the ceiling. He gave her a side glance. "Want to go after him?"

"I'm not sure we should." Christine stated. Raoul turned his head, his eyes wide in surprise. She continued. "Not yet anyway. The semester is almost over, there's no point in starting something that's immediately going to be cut off. Plus he's your TA which I don't think looks good if others found out."

"Wait until next semester?" Raoul offered. Christine nodded. "Okay, I can go for that."

"This is going to be fun." Christine smiled. "We haven't tried to date another since…"

Abruptly Christine cut off and shivered, thinking back to their last relationship with a third. It hadn't ended well.

Raoul also shuddered on the couch. "I thought we weren't ever going to mention that again."

"Sorry." Christine apologized.

"It's cool." Raoul stated. "I think it will be fun too."

"There is a thing." Christine started than stopped.

Raoul turned his head to glance at her again. "What?"

"Meg told me something about Erik that's interesting. Personally, I don't see it as a problem and I told Meg that, but you probably don't know about it."

"Are you going to keep me in suspense or are you going to tell me?" Raoul questioned.

"Meg told me Erik was asexual." Christine informed him. He gave her a blank stare. "Yeah, I didn't know what it was either. Meg told me that it basically means that Erik isn't attracted to anything sexually."

"Never heard of it." Raoul stated with a frown. "How would—"

"I was getting to that." Christine interrupted. "Meg also told me that he was bi-romantic which means he's open to having a relationship with men and women. He just not into those things, he doesn't see people that way."

"How does he see them?" Raoul questioned with a curious squint.

Christine shrugged. "Meg mentioned something about art pieces. There are art forms you like, some you don't, but you never think about them that way. I don't know, I'm probably saying it wrong. Meg said to ask Erik if we want specifics."

"We'll probably have to, last thing I want is to scare him off because we do something too pushy." Raoul sighed.

"Yeah, but Meg also told me that if we're serious, we have to make things obvious for him." Christine reluctantly stated. "Apparently, he's oblivious to these things."

"Damn, that's going to make things more complicated, but I guess that makes things more interesting." Raoul declared. He sat up completely and swung his legs over the couch and his feet touched the carpet floor. He clapped his hands together. "Okay, Operation Get Erik to Date Us is a go!"

Christine laughed. "You mean, after winter break?"

"Oh right. You know what I mean." Raoul dropped his hands.

Christine nodded with a grin. "We haven't done an 'operation' since we were kids!"

"Adds to the fun doesn't it?" Raoul winked making Christine laugh again.

"Hey Erik." Christine called out upon spotting the older student in one of the food courts.

Erik blinked his golden eyes once as if coming out of his thoughts before turning to her. He gave her a small grin. "Hello Miss Daae."

"Getting lunch in between classes?" Raoul came up from behind Christine and stopped next to her.

Erik shrugged. "Yes, but I miscalculated my meal plan and have to pay for it."

"Whoa, what? No way are you doing that. Come on." Raoul declared and gestured for Erik to follow him.

Erik did with a confused frown but when it became clear what Raoul was going to do, he backed away. "Oh no, I could not ask for you to pay."

"Who's asking? I'm offering and you're going to accept." Raoul countered. He got back out of line to let other's move up.

"I cannot do that either." Erik protested.

"Look." Raoul held up his ID card between two fingers. "Me being a freshman and all, I bought a meal plan way too big for me and have plenty to go around before the semester ends. Christine, being the smart girl she is, didn't make the same mistake and I'm paying for her lunch too."

Erik appeared hesitate and Raoul continued.

"You would actually be doing me a favor because if I don't use up all this money, it'll just disappear into the college's pocket, and I don't want that to happen. Help me out?"

"I'll certainly help!"

Antoinette suddenly came out of nowhere and came behind Erik. She grinned as she threw her arm around his shoulder and leaned into him. "What's this about free food?"

Erik gave her a small scowl but didn't move away.

"I think the invitation was only opened to Erik." Nadir stated, coming up and stood on Erik's other side.

Antoinette slumped with a sigh. "Darn it. Got my hopes up for nothing."

"You have enough money to pay for yourself." Erik told him with a grin.

"Yes, but free food always taste better." Antoinette refuted.

"What do you think Raoul?" Christine asked him softly.

"I think I have an idea." Raoul answered then spoke louder to get the trio's attention. "How about this then. I'll pay for both of your lunches too, if Erik agrees to let me buy his."

Erik immediately opened his mouth to protest but Antoinette covered his mouth with her hand.

"That sounds lovely!" Antoinette grinned. She turned to Erik who was giving her a challenging look. "Let's not be too hasty. Come on Erik, it's a free lunch. You wouldn't want me and Nadir to go hungry do you?"

"Leave me out of it." Nadir remarked with a shake of his head.

Christine watched Antoinette and Erik do a staring contest, to see which of them would break first. She was impressed by Antoinette's ability to last long, Erik's stare was intense when he wasn't doing anything, and she could only imagine what it felt like to be under those eyes when he was trying to stare someone down. Then again, Antoinette was a childhood friend, she was probably long used to it.

Still, it was impressive.

What broke the staring contest was a sound breaking through. A stomach growling.

"Ah," Antoinette blinked and looked away as she placed her hand on her stomach.

Erik chuckled. "Okay fine, let us get you something to eat then."

He glanced up at Raoul. "If you are still offering?"

Raoul shrugged but had his easy-going smile. "Yep, come on."

"Promise me that you are not going to over study and make sure you get a full night's sleep." Erik demanded as he closed his book.

Raoul didn't say anything, Christine elbowed him in his side. That earned her a scowl from him but he turned to Erik. "Fine."

"That was not a promise." Erik stated and sat back in seat to wait.

Raoul waved his hand dismissingly. "Okay, I promise."

"To?" Erik had an amused smirk on his lips.

Raoul scoffed. "To not over study and to get a full night's sleep. There. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Erik replied calmly and made to stand up.

"Got to do your own studying for finals?" Raoul questioned.

Erik shook his head. "No, I do not need to study, I'm going to the music hall to use their piano."

"Working on some new pieces?" Christine asked.

"You could say that." Erik grinned.

"Well, since this is the last time, we're going to see you until next semester, here." Raoul held out a piece of paper. "It has our numbers on it. Make sure you text us your number too."

"Alright." Erik agreed, taking the paper from Raoul's hand. Christine saw Raoul lift his fingers enough that they touched the bottom of Erik's hand. Raoul was the one that was usually the less subtle one, however, Erik didn't seem to notice the gesture. That was fine, they already agreed to not put their efforts in until next semester.

Erik looked down at the paper for a moment. "I will make sure to do that, I cannot wait to hear how you do on the final."

Raoul groaned. "I'm not going to want to talk about that!"

"If you do not tell me, I will assume that you did poorly." Erik smirked, putting the paper in his pocket. "And that would devastate me and my confidence in my ability to teach."

"You know what? Leave!" Raoul huffed.

Erik chuckled but waved goodbye at Christine before walking away.

"Why do we like him again?" Raoul asked her once Erik was out of sight.

"Because he's smart, kind, musical, and hot as hell." Christine deadpanned.

Raoul nodded seriously. "Oh right, that why. Musical is kind of more your thing, but I'll agree with the rest of them."

"He's also sarcastic but in a funny way and has a wicked sense of humor sometimes." Meg remarked, looking up from her own studying.

"Also true." Christine agreed.

Raoul licked his lips. "My kind of man."

"I can't believe all it took to convince you about Erik was one conversation." Meg rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to your friends, but Erik says one line, and you're his."

"Whoa, I wouldn't go that far yet." Raoul protested.

Christine placed her chin in her hand with a grin. "I wouldn't mind being his."

"About that…" Meg trailed off as she observed the two of them. "When exactly are you going to tell him about you guys being polyamorous and you want to date him?"

"Next semester." Christine answered, placing her hand back down and straightening. "It was too close to the end of this semester to start anything. We wanted the time that wouldn't be interrupted. Besides, this gives us more time to get to know more about him."

"Alright." Meg conceded. "But don't forget my warning."

Christine smiled. "We won't. I really think this is going to work out."

 **This chapter was literally based on the prompt 'if I don't use up all this money, it'll just disappear into the college's pocket, and I don't want that to happen.' Lol. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, leave me a review if you did. Next chapter will be in Erik's POV. See ya next time and Happy Thanksgiving.**


	9. The Things You Do For Friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

The Things You Do For Friends

Erik looked up at the large house in front of him and sighed. He did not want to be there, it was a place where people went to get drunk and have affairs. Not exactly his idea of having a good time. Already, he was hearing the yells inside that let him know that people were getting drunk.

He looked back down and saw a number of students waiting to get inside the house of the popular fraternity. He slowed down his pace but was grabbed by his arm. He turned and glared at Antoinette, who had his arm.

"What am I doing here again?" Erik asked with distaste. He heard a crash and looked up to see several boys tossing items at the crowd below. Erik spotted one of them throwing eggs.

How childish.

"You're here as a favor to me." Antoinette reminded him. Her grip on his arm tightened for a moment, she had seen what was happening above them. "I didn't want to come here by myself."

"What I don't understand is why you wanted to come here in the first place." Nadir remarked from his spot on Erik's other side.

Antoinette shrugged. "I guess I wanted to be able to say I went to at least one of these things, besides, one of my classmates in dance invited me. I didn't want to decline. It's not like we're here to do what everyone else is."

"I don't want to know what everyone else is here for." Nadir grumbled, shivering in his jacket. The January air was cold and crisp this late into the night. He grabbed the jacket collar and pulled it closer to his face. "Can we go inside now? I'm losing feeling in my toes!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Antoinette huffed but led the way inside the house.

The music was loud outside the house, but when they got inside, Erik cringed at the volume. It was practically blaring in his ears and the music itself would not be something he normally listened too. They were greeted by a lot of people everywhere, either standing by the wall or snack table or dancing in the large living room. 90% of the people held red solo cups in their hands, its contents obvious.

Erik could see a number of furniture upturned and his nose wrinkled underneath his mask. The smell was overwhelmed by sweat and alcohol.

"This is unpleasant." Erik remarked firmly, not wanting to go inside any further. If anything, he wanted to turn right around and leave.

It was a shame that Antoinette had a firm hold on his arm.

"You are not leaving me." Antoinette hissed under her breath with a hint of warning as if reading his thoughts. To be honest, Erik sometimes wondered.

"We're not leaving you." Nadir confirmed. He took another look around the place. "But you have to admit this isn't our thing."

"I know." Antoinette conceded. "We won't be here long, I promise. But I, at least, want to make sure that my friend knows I came."

Erik snorted. "Friend, huh? You are not talking about Daniel, are you?"

He spotted the blush that bloomed on his friends cheeks and grinned. He had gotten it correct.

Nadir groaned next to him. "Really? We are here to say hi to your boyfriend?"

"He is not my boyfriend!" Antoinette protested, but her tone was weak.

"But you want him to be." Erik countered, then yelped when Antoinette pinched his arm. He sent her a glare, which she returned. Her face was a bright red and as a result, Erik relented. He let out a sigh. "Fine, let's go find him."

Antoinette beamed at him, making Erik sigh again internally. The things he does for his friends.

Luckily, it did not take them long to find the man they wanted. Erik was happy to note that the older man was one of the few that did not have one of those red cups glued to his hand but was sitting on the couch comfortably eating snacks. Antoinette made them promise to not leave her line of sight, which they promised easy enough, before heading over to sit down next to the man.

"She looks completely besotted." Nadir remarked a few minutes later as him and Nadir watched Antoinette talk with the senior called Daniel. "What do you think?"

"Absolutely." Erik approved when Antoinette laughed. "Though I would say it makes her appear radiant as well."

Nadir shook his head. "I remain amazed by the fact that you two never ended up together. Not even a phase."

"As I have told you in the past, dating her would be like dating you." Erik deadpanned. He turned to his friend. "You want to date me?"

That earned him a punch in his shoulder. It hurt for a moment then dulled.

"Whatever." Nadir rolled his eyes.

Erik smirked then caught sight of something in the corner of his eye.

He glanced towards where he saw the movement then froze. "Oh crap."

"What?" Nadir frowned, turning to look at what had thrown Erik, then also froze. "Oh crap!"

Across the room from them, near the entrance to the kitchen from living room, Meg was cheerfully talking to a girl.

"What in the world is she doing here?!" Nadir hissed, his eyes wide from panic.

"I don't know but I do not plan on allowing Antoinette to see her." Erik stated. "She would kill Meg."

"Don't I know it." Nadir agreed. He jerked his thumb in Antoinette's direction, who thankfully had her back towards Meg. "I'll make sure she doesn't get suspicious while you're gone. Be quick."

Erik nodded before making his way towards Meg. He came up behind her and the girl she was talking with went quiet and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Please do not tell me you are here alone." Erik whispered.

Meg jumped and turned around with startled eyes. Said eyes got bigger when she realized who it was. "Erik—"

Erik held up his hand to stop her. He gestured for her to follow him, which she did sheepishly after saying bye to the girl. He took her to the den room where there were not many people before turning back. He gave her a disapproving frown. "What are you doing here?"

Meg would not meet his eyes. "Ah, enjoying a party."

The answer sounded more like a question. Erik closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath before letting it out slowly. "I hope that does not relate to anything illegal for your age—"

Meg's head jerked upwards as she looked at him in shock. "Of course not! I came because I was invited and wanted to hang out with some friends before school started. How could you think that I would?!"

Erik nodded, letting her know he believed her. He should not have thought that Meg would drink but he had wanted to be sure. College was a place where people changed. Antoinette hated people who drink with a passion. Well, it was people who drank irresponsibly and those who did that the most were college students. Drinking had been the cause of death of her and Meg's father when they had been children. He had been driving late at night when he had gotten hit by a vehicle that had ran a red light. The person that had done it had been a drunk college student. "Does that mean that you're not alone?"

"No, I came with a couple others." Meg suddenly was looking at everything except Erik, like she was trying to hide something.

Erik frowned at that. "Okay well, I need you to either leave with them right now or I can give you a ride back."

Meg glanced at him with confusion. "Why?"

Erik gave her a look. "Why do you think? Here's a hint, do you think I would come to one of these things by myself?"

Erik could tell the exact moment Meg realized who else was here at the party. Her jaw dropped in disbelief and she went pale. When Erik nodded again, she cursed under her breath.

"She's going to kill me." Meg groaned, placing her hands to her temples.

"Only if you get caught." Erik acknowledged.

"Where is she?" Meg asked.

"In the living room, the front door will not be for you." Erik informed her.

Meg nodded, placing her hands down. "Okay. Okay! There's a back door, I can go through that easily."

"Do you want a ride or will your friends leave with you?" Erik questioned. They made their way out of the den room and headed towards the kitchen that had the back door.

Meg visibly hesitated in answering, causing Erik confusion when the answer revealed itself.

"Meg! Where are you going?" a familiar voice called out.

Erik slowed down his pace at the voice and Meg shot Erik a guilty look. If he did not have his mask on, she would have been able to see the eyebrow raise, but he did have his mask. He was pretty sure Meg saw his disbelief.

They were in the kitchen, a large one that had a decent amount of people in it but not enough for it to be uncomfortable. Most of them were drinking and talking, away from the music booming in the living room.

Erik paid none of that mind but instead turned around.

Two pairs of eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Hello Miss Daae, Mr. de Chagny. What a surprise to find you here." Erik remarked causally, crossing his arms over his chest. He sent a glance to Meg, who was fidgeting in the place she was standing before turning back to the couple in front of him. "I take it you two are the friends Meg came with?"

Meg was the one who answered with a confirmation.

Erik hummed and tapped his fingers on his arm a few times, staring at the couple, who looked increasingly uncomfortable.

He had to say that he was a little disappointed with the couple in front of him. He had not seen them since December when the fall semester had ended but he had kept in contact with them through the vacation. They had gotten close enough that Erik would consider them friends, but what a disappointing encounter for them after the break. He had not taken either of them as a person to go to these types of parties. The more you know.

"Meg." Erik stated, catching her attention even though his eyes did not leave the couple in front of him. "I suggest you take your friends and leave before any of you get caught."

The couple flinched at the title ' _your_ friends.' Christine, who was biting her lip, opened her mouth.

"We weren't drinking Erik."

Ah, so she knew the reason behind Erik's sudden coldness. Maybe he had judged them a little too quickly, he could admit that he had a habit of doing that when it came to alcohol, especially at these kinds of parties.

Erik shook his head. "Forgive me for being hasty then, but I do recommend leaving anyway." He dropped his arms and made his way towards the door that led to the living room. He caught sight of Antoinette sitting on the couch talking to Daniel and spotted Nadir in the same spot where he had left him, leaning against the wall. He turned back to Meg. "Antoinette will not be pleased if she catches sight of you."

Meg straightened at the reminder of this whole thing. She went to Christine and started to pull her towards the door. "Come on, Anton will kill me if she sees me and may or may not do bodily harm to the two of you."

"We haven't done anything!" Raoul protested.

"Doesn't matter." Meg countered, going to pull at him.

"It really doesn't." Erik added when the younger man glanced at him. He went up and placed his hands on the couple's shoulders. "Meg will explain things to you. I will see you around."

At his touch, the couple blushed but Erik paid that no mind. Christine nodded and grabbed Raoul's hand to help Meg pull him. Which he did not fight back.

"Thanks Erik." Meg thanked, giving him a quick peck on his cheek below the mask before leaving the house with Christine and Raoul.

Erik let out a sigh of relief, his shoulder's dropping down. He went to the entrance to the living room and saw Antoinette had not moved but remained on the couch talking with Daniel. Erik made his way back to Nadir who gave him a questioning stare. Erik nodded in reply and Nadir's shoulders dropped a little. Apparently he had not been the only one tense.

"How much longer do you think we will be here?" Erik asked his friend, leaning against the wall next to him.

"I have no idea, but I'm guessing it's more than how long I want it to be." Nadir answered.

Erik shrugged. "At least one of us is having a good time."

"Don't even start." Nadir huffed, but Erik saw the small grin on his face.

Feeling satisfied, Erik gained a small grin of his own.

 **And there we go. Another chapter in. Hope everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to leave a review! Next chapter is in Raoul's POV. Nothing serious happens, just a little cute in between. ;) See ya next time!**


	10. Seriously?

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

…Seriously?

Antoinette ended up finding out about Meg being at the party. Raoul didn't hear about it until the first day of class when Meg had met up with him and Christine for lunch. She had been sulking and a little pale so Raoul had asked what was wrong. In answer, she told them about how Antoinette had seen her at the party but hadn't given it away until after. She had chewed her out the next morning and Erik had gotten into trouble as well.

Why? Raoul had asked. Because Erik had tried to help her leave before Antoinette could see her. Meg replied.

Meg admitted to feeling better that Erik had also gotten in trouble with Antoinette because that meant that the anger was split between the two of them. Meg was also grateful that her sister hadn't seen Raoul or Christine. Even though they had not done anything, it would have been enough to get on Antoinette's bad list for a while.

At first, Raoul didn't understand what the whole big deal was, but then Meg told him about her dad and it suddenly made a lot of since. It also explained Erik's disappointment with them at seeing them at the party. Christine was able to convince him that they had not been drinking, thank goodness. It would have stunk to have taken a step back in their relationship before it started.

That whole first week of classes was both hectic and dull. Hectic because everyone was trying to get settled back into their school lives after a short break but it was dull because the first week was filled with the simple stuff. Sure, some evil professors started the material on the first day of class, but most spent it going over the basics of the class. Raoul had the later and as a result, it was a pretty uneventful week.

Late that first Saturday night, Raoul woke up to the sounds of someone in the kitchen. He peaked his eyes open to look at the clock and let out a groan upon seeing the time.

It was too late for this crap, Raoul thought.

He tried to go back to sleep but he couldn't. He tossed and turned and placed his pillow over his head in attempt to block out the noise but to no use. After ten minutes of the noise, Raoul sat up with an irritated sigh. He glanced over and saw that Nadir wasn't in the room. Raoul wasn't concerned, the man was usually with Erik when he didn't come back for the night.

Wanting to go back to bed as soon as possible, Raoul jerked his covers back and climbed out of bed. He opened the door and flinched as the lights in the hallway flared in his vision. He made his way towards the kitchen, the noises getting louder as he got closer but he also noticed the smell of something.

Curious, Raoul got to the kitchen and opened the door.

"You are so lucky its Saturday." Raoul remarked when he saw who was in the room.

Erik looked up from his spot in front of the sink where he was apparently doing the dishes. Catching sight of Raoul, he sheepishly shrugged.

Raoul yawned and went inside the room enough to close the door. When it shut, he leaned back against it. "What are you doing in here anyway? Don't you ever sleep?"

"No he doesn't." Nadir remarked, sitting at the table they had for the room. In front of him was a plate of cookies, one of them in his hand. "And he drags me into whatever he wants to do at night."

Raoul saw Erik roll his eyes but didn't stop in his washing. "I sleep, I just do not need a lot of it."

"Must be nice." Raoul stated. He looked at the plate of cookies that were giving off the scent he had smelled in the hallway then looked back at Erik. "Aren't you not allowed to use the kitchen?"

"That was for last semester." Erik answered, rinsing the dishes. "They were kind enough to allow me access after."

"Antoinette, however, we are not letting to cook again." Nadir told Raoul.

Raoul frowned in confusion. "Why not?"

"Ah, she was the one who had started the fire." Erik informed him. "I took the blame."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because he knew that the school wouldn't punish him as severely as they would have if Antoinette had admitted." Nadir sent him a pointed look.

Raoul looked away from Nadir, not being able to meet his gaze. His ears felt heated and hoped that his hair would be able to cover most of the tips at least. He remembered how he had reacted that night of the kitchen fire. He had been such a jerk and had said mean things to Erik, who apparently hadn't done anything. He also remembered Erik's response to him accidently getting near his mask. Raoul was still not over that brief flash of fear that had been in Erik's golden eyes.

And now he's being told that he had acted that way for no reason? The level of jerk he had been to Erik seem to get higher and higher.

"That's all in the past." Erik stated firmly, jerking Raoul back to the present. Erik turned off the water and reached for the towel to dry his hands.

"Speaking of Antoinette." Raoul began. "Why isn't she with you?"

Erik's hands twitched in the towel and Nadir was suddenly very interested in the cookie plate. Raoul raised his eyebrow at the reaction but waited for one of them to speak. It took a few moments, but Erik was the one to answer.

"She is upset with me for what happened at the party." Erik explained, putting the towel down and leaned against the counter, his hands on the tiles.

"Oh," Raoul stated. "Meg had told me she had found out."

"More like she always knew." Nadir countered, taking a bite out of his cookie. "She had seen Meg walk by and then had seen Erik go after her. There was quite the scorn that night."

Erik scowled at him. "You are lucky that I did not tell Antoinette that you knew as well. You would have been right there next to us."

"Is Antoinette really that bad when she's angry?" Raoul questioned and had to hold back a snicker at the level of disbelief in the looks the other two gave him.

"You know that saying 'Hell hath no fury'?" Nadir asked him. When Raoul nodded, Nadir grinned. "Antoinette is the embodiment of that."

Raoul had to admit that he was impressed and a little scared of Antoinette. He knew to never get on her bad side. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"You better." Nadir nodded seriously. He turned back to Erik. "Though, she's worse with people who are not her friends."

Erik grinned. "True."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door before it started to open. Raoul quickly jumped out of the way, almost hitting his head on the towel dispenser but he was barely able to avoid it. A head peaked in and Raoul recognized their RA.

"Hey guys, can you keep it down? I know its Saturday but there are people trying to sleep." The RA stated, his tone telling Raoul that it wasn't a suggestion.

Erik nodded and straightened from the counter. "We were about to finish. We'll leave shortly."

The RA nodded and closed the door again. When he was gone, Raoul turned back to the other two.

"No one comes when you're banging around the dishes yet we get called out on talking?" Raoul whispered, trying to be quiet.

Nadir shrugged. "That's college for you. It's full of contradictions."

"The trick is flexibility." Erik added. "You have to keep an open mind, otherwise, you would go crazy."

Raoul shook his head but didn't say anything. He didn't want to try to discuss the craziness of college this late at night. He was going to leave but then caught sight of the cookie plate again. He paused for a moment and that was enough for them.

"You want one? They are plain sugar." Nadir offered. He finished the cookie he was on and gestured towards the plate. "Erik made them and, unlike Antoinette, he can cook."

Knowing Erik was the one to make them, Raoul felt the urge to grab one get higher. Outwardly, he shrugged but made his way to the table. Grabbing a cookie, Raoul caught sight of Nadir giving him a knowing smirk and realized that he might know about Raoul and Christine's feelings towards Erik.

Clearing his throat, Raoul thanked Erik for the treat and said goodnight to both of them. As he left the room, he tried not to think about how red his face was because of Nadir's expression. He could hope that Erik didn't notice. With his luck, his chances were slim.

At least the cookie tasted amazing.

"You what?!" Christine exclaimed in horror.

Meg shifted on her bed nervously, not being able to look at Christine. "I, ah, may have accidently let it slip that you and Raoul were polyamorous."

"I can't believe you!" Christine hissed. Feeling agitated, she began to pace back and forth within their dorm room. She needed to get out some of her anger. "How did the subject even come up?"

"Anton asked about how long the two of you were together." Meg began, watching Christine pace. "I swear I didn't mean to say it, it came out as we were talking about you two."

Christine stopped with a groan, placing her head in her hands. "We were going to be the ones to tell Erik."

"Yeah, and when exactly was that going to happen? School started a couple weeks ago." Meg pointed out. She got quiet when Christine sent her a glare through her fingers.

"When we were ready to tell him!"

"If it makes you feel any better, Erik didn't have a bad reaction." Meg informed her cautiously. "None of them did. Sure they were surprised, but who isn't?"

Christine had to admit that the news did make her feel better. She didn't want to think about Erik being disgusted by her and Raoul's relationship. That was one of the reasons they hadn't told him yet, their fear got in the way. A reasonable fear to be sure, but a fear nonetheless. Now she knew that Erik didn't mind, but that still didn't mean that he would be open to participating in one.

Christine forced herself to take a few deep breaths before letting out a large sigh. She straightened, letting her hands go to her hips and regarded Meg.

"Raoul is going to be pissed at you too, you know." Christine stated.

Meg winced but nodded in acceptance. "Yeah, but hey, everything is out in the open! You can totally start dating."

"Do you hear yourself? I think you're being a little too optimistic." Christine countered, going to sit on her desk chair, she swerved it to face her friend. "Just because he accepts it doesn't mean he likes us that way."

"I think he would be open to it." Meg told her, then gained an unsure appearance. "The problem will be whether he'll let himself be open to it."

Christine frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a reason Erik doesn't date and it's not because he's asexual." Meg began, her hands twisting together in her lap. "He doesn't think anyone would be able to have such feelings towards him once they see his face."

Christine gestured with her hand for Meg to explain more and she did. "It's happened in the past, so it's not like this is his thoughts. There was one particular girl who Erik had a crush on when he was younger, who also liked him back. However, for whatever reason, she wouldn't believe Erik was disfigured and when she finally saw his face…"

"What happened?" Christine pressed, though had a sense of dread that it wasn't good.

"She screamed and ran away from him." Meg announced softly. She rubbed her forehead as if trying to wipe away the memory. "They had been on a balcony at her house when it happened and she fell off."

"What?!" Christine gasped. "Was she okay?"

"Yeah, luckily she just broke her leg instead of her head, but she wouldn't go near Erik after that. Avoiding him everywhere. It got so bad that her father sent her to another school. I don't think Erik ever forgave himself for what had happened." Meg finished with a somber tone.

"But it wasn't his fault! It was an accident." Christine stated.

Meg shrugged. "Try telling him that. Anyway, I think that was the point Erik decided that he would never be loved that way."

Christine remained silent after that, mostly because she was shocked. For serval minutes neither of them spoke but eventually, Christine broke the silence.

"But…" Christine gained Meg's attention. "Raoul and I already know and believe that Erik wears that mask for a reason and accept that. We like him because of who he is, not how he looks. Is his face really that bad?"

"Probably more than you are thinking." Meg countered. Christine blinked at her in surprised and she shrugged. "I grew up with Erik, he's like my older brother, I've long since gotten used to how he looks. I can't tell you how 'bad' he looks because my idea of bad is different. From experience though, I can say that usually people underestimate rather than the opposite."

"Can you describe him then?" Christine asked.

"I don't think it's my place to." Meg countered and Christine could understand that.

She sighed. "Thank you for that. It's given Raoul and I something to talk about before we get serious."

"Don't worry about it. Better now than have all your hearts broken in the future. Though if you do end up together, I still get bragging rights." Meg finished the last part with a smirk.

Christine grinned back. Abruptly, there was a frequent knock on the door and she hurried to the door to open it.

As soon as it was opened enough, a disheveled Raoul rushed through the door and, upon seeing Meg on her bed, glared.

"You told him?!"

Meg shot Christine a startled look and Christine bit her lip. She had forgotten that she had text Raoul about Meg.

Whoops.

 **And there you go! I forgot to mention that it shifts over to Christine's POV in the second half, so sorry about that. But! I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless and will leave a review. Next chapter will be in Erik's POV and oh boy, you're in for a show! ;) …well, you'll see.**


	11. An Ex Appears

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

An Ex Appears

"I'm going to go get water real quick." Christine remarked as she stood up from the table they were studying at in the library.

"Do not take too long, or else Mr. de Chagny will forget what he's just read." Erik replied causally then smirked at the sound of protest coming from the younger. He heard Christine chuckle then heard her leave.

"I won't forget what I've read!" Raoul hissed at him.

Erik lifted his head from his own work, making sure that their eyes met. "What was the cataclysm often thought to be the beginning of WWI? Do not look at you book."

Raoul immediately got a blank look then groan in frustration. He pressed the palm of his hands to his eyes. "I literally just read that! I hate history!"

"Need a hint?" Erik asked, pausing in his writing to observe Raoul.

"I know it was about a person! Crap, what was his name?!" Raoul whispered to himself.

"It is truly remarkable how you got through high school history let alone last semester's course." Erik stated thoughtfully. When that earn him a glare from behind hands, Erik sighed.

"Hey, I'm good with numbers!" Raoul grumbled, placing his elbows on the table but not removing his head from his hands. "Talk math, I'm your guy, but I'm not good at remembering stuff like this. Christine was always better at this."

"If we were talking about math, you would not be here to get tutoring." Erik countered, pointing his pen at Raoul. He leaned back in his chair. "What did I tell you to look for to remember your lessons?"

"Try to find something funny about it." Raoul answered without hesitation. He dropped his hand and let them fall on the table. "Kind of hard to do when most of it is pretty dark."

"True. But there are things that could be considered amusing." Erik retorted. "Take the beginning of WWI. Sure there were other factors that would have led to the war, but this specific event is considered the one that tipped the balance. A domino effect in fact. An assassination gone wrong and then by sheer luck fixed itself all because of a…"

"A need for a damn sandwich!" Raoul almost exclaimed in realization. His eyes lit up. Erik winced at the volume and Raoul must have seen it because he lowered his voice again. "I don't remember the name specifically, but wasn't it because the assassin went and got a sandwich and the target just happened to show up there."

"It's Ferdinand and yes, that's a basic short version." Erik acknowledged. "Go ahead and start reading the next section. Miss Daae will probably want to test you when she gets back."

"What's taking her so long anyway?" Raoul wondered to himself so Erik did not answer.

Raoul went back to his book and Erik went back to his own assignment. Easy work, but Raoul did raise a good point. It was taking Miss Daae a while to get water, he wondered if she saw someone she knew and had decided to talk with them for a bit.

Mentally shrugging, Erik focused back on his work.

After a couple minutes, he heard a loud female voice come from down the hall from where they were at. It pierce through the silence like a sharp knife, startling Erik. His head jerked up at the sound and noticed that it seemed to be getting closer. He turned to Raoul and was surprised by how pale the younger seemed to have gotten, his expression one of horror.

"Are you alright?" Erik asked.

Raoul jumped and turned his wide eyes to Erik. He gestured towards him as he stood up.

"Work with me real quick. Pull your seat out." Raoul instructed hurriedly.

Confused but also curious, Erik did as he was asked. He had no idea what the younger was going to do and why he was doing it, but Erik was willing enough since Raoul seemed to be frazzled.

One could imagine his shock when Raoul came around the table and proceeded to straddle him.

"Mr. de—!" Erik began but was cut off by Raoul's finger pressing against his lips.

"Work with me." Raoul pleaded.

Erik paused at the tone and observed the younger, whose eyes kept shifting towards where that female voice was getting louder, which was amazing in volume to Erik. He watched, then things became clear.

"That's your ex?" Erik asked against Raoul's finger. It was weird but sounded clear enough.

Raoul nodded fiercely, his eyes getting more desperate as the voice got closer.

Erik could not believe he was going to do this.

With a sigh, Erik quickly grabbed Raoul's hand to pull it away from his mouth and reached out with his other hand to take the back of the younger's head to pull him down. As he pulled, Erik pushed his head up.

Their lips met.

Raoul was motionless at first. Long enough that Erik questioned whether that was what Raoul had meant, it was hard to imagine anything else given that it was an ex and the younger was currently sitting on him. However, Raoul began to response to the kiss and Erik felt relieved. Not saying it was not strange, because it was, but it wasn't like he had not done something similar before. It was an act.

Raoul placed his free hand on Erik's neck as he pressed himself to him, close enough that their chest were touching. The hand that Erik had grabbed tightened its grip on his own, interlocking their fingers.

Normally the library was cold, even when it was winter, to keep everyone from getting hot when it got crowded. Erik felt warm with Raoul's body pressed against his, the hand on his neck causing his skin to tingle at the spot. It was entirely pleasant.

Suddenly, there was a cry in disbelief and Erik jerked back at the sound as did Raoul. Because of it, Raoul almost lost his balance but Erik was able to take hold of his shirt in time for that not to happen. Raoul was panting above him, but Erik quickly got his own breathing under control and looked to see who had made the loud noise.

He saw a woman perhaps Raoul and Christine's age, with a flashy outfit and hair so red that Erik briefly wondered if she dyed it. Next to her was a stunned Christine but she did not look angry, that was the other female. Furious was doubtless a better word, consider the woman's face was the shade of her hair.

Erik would remain grateful that his mask hid his own pink face, and wondered if the woman would ever return to her normal shade again.

"Y-you!" The woman stuttered out in frustration.

"Oh! Hey, nice seeing you here." Raoul beamed with a clear note of smugness in his tone. He remained on top of Erik and did not appear to be moving anytime soon. "It's been a while."

The woman whipped around to Christine, who had by then taken on an innocent look that said what she was seeing was completely normal. Erik had to admit that he was impressed. "Are you going to let your boyfriend kiss another man?!"

Christine shrugged, not affected by the woman's rage. "Sure, when that man is our partner."

The woman gapped for a moment. "You have male partners as well?"

"Why wouldn't we? We are a free loving couple." Raoul argued with a triumphant grin.

The woman clenched her fist by her side. Erik could tell that Raoul was having way too much fun messing with the woman, ex or not, he figured it would be best if things came to an end.

"Raoul." Erik purposely made his voice go deeper and huskier. He's never used either of the couple's first names but he knew that it would be strange to not in this kind of situation. He waited until Raoul's gaze was on him then leaned forward until their lips were a few inches away from each other. Making sure their eye contact did not break he continued.

"I need you." Erik whispered, though projected it loud enough for the woman to hear it perfectly. He watched Raoul's eyes dilate and rolled his own eyes to focus on Christine. He raised the hand that was not holding the bottom of Raoul's shirt from when he grabbed him to keep him from falling and held it out towards Christine. "Christine."

Christine visibly shuddered, her eyes also getting dark.

"I can do that." Raoul breathed as Christine started towards them. He turned towards the woman and waved her away as if dismissing a servant. "You mind?"

The woman appeared about to burst a vein from trying to hold in a scream. However, she made one soft noise of anger and stomped away from the table. By the time she was gone, Christine had placed her hand in his which he raised to his lips for a second then lowered it.

"I'm guessing that will be enough?" Erik questioned, his voice normal.

The two of them blinked at him then realization came on both their faces.

"Oh yes! Definitely! More than enough!" Raoul hurried to say. He got off of Erik and took a couple steps back, not looking at Erik.

"I can't believe Raoul was able to talk you into doing that." Christine stated sheepishly, taking her hand back.

Erik shrugged. "It was a simple thing to do to help a friend. It's only a matter of acting."

"I'll say! Your imrov skills were awesome." Raoul remarked with a sad grin.

That's curious, Erik thought in confusion.

"Yes, well, it was not the first time I have done that." Erik declared. He wanted to laugh at the abrupt sight of the two jaw's dropping in unison but settle for a smirk.

"You what?! With who?!" Raoul demanded after the initial shock wore off. He held up his hand in a stopping motion. "No wait, don't tell me. I want to guess."

"Probably Anton, right?" Christine guessed looking thoughtful.

Erik nodded. At least they seem to be out of whatever cause them to act strange those few moments.

"Oh, come on! I had wanted to guess!" Raoul pouted, crossing his arms to his chest.

"That one's kind of obvious." Christine replied with an eye roll.

Erik chuckled. "True, but you only guessed one of the two people I did it for. You and Raoul would be three."

"What?" Raoul stated in surprise. "Who else is there?"

Erik gave both of them a look, waiting for the connection to be made.

"Not…Nadir?" Christine guessed hesitantly.

"Noo…" Raoul started but then took on an expression of disbelief when Erik did not say anything. "Really?!"

"It was once, but yes." Erik informed them.

"Oh my gosh, no way!" Raoul laughed. He pressed his hand to his mouth to cover his laugh. They were in a library after all. "What the heck happened?"

"We were at a club and a woman was not taking no for an answer." Erik shrugged. "When I got back with our drinks, he grabbed me to kiss me. I knew that she had been making him uncomfortable so had gone along with it and played my part. The woman gave up after that as you can imagine."

"I don't know why I find that hilarious but it is." Raoul chuckled.

"What about your ex? If you don't mind me asking." Erik questioned honestly curious. He glanced at the direction the woman had left. "What in the world did she do to the two of you while you were dating?"

Raoul huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaned against the table. "What didn't she do?"

"She was sweet at first." Christine told. "She was nice and caring and that's what we thought she was like."

"I'm taking that was not the truth?" Erik inquired.

"Nope! Shortly after we got together she turned into the biggest diva in existence." Raoul rolled his eyes. "It was like she was the queen and we were the ones lucky enough to be in her presence. It got old real fast."

"We broke up with her and she didn't take it well." Christine added. "There was a huge argument and what we got from it was that we were not allowed to break up with her."

Erik raised his eyebrow, not that they could see it. "How did that go?"

"Oh, we dumped her again and again, every time we saw her." Raoul stated and then turned to Christine. "Is that what took you long with getting water?"

"Yeah, I had tried to stop her from following me back here but that obviously didn't happen." Christine answered. "I'm really hoping she finds someone else soon, because this is getting beyond annoying."

"Worse case, you get a restraining order. Those are quite effective." Erik offered. The couple looked at him in disbelief and he shrugged. "What? They've worked for me."

"You have a restraining order on someone?" Raoul gawked.

"On my biggest fan. I rather not talk about it." Erik stated firmly.

"That's fine. We should go back to studying anyway." Christine agreed. She went to the other side of the table, pulling Raoul with her and both sat down.

"As you wish." Erik approved, turning to Raoul. "Mr. de Chagny, whose assassination is considered the event that led to WWI?"

Erik laughed when Raoul dropped his head to the table with a groan.

 **Muhahaha! I really hoped you enjoyed that read! It took me a while to write that kiss scene because I get frickin embarrassed writing it, lol. I you liked it, be sure to leave a review! Next chapter will be in Christine's POV and this will start the countdown. We have three more chapters left. :) See ya next time!**


	12. Unintended Reveal

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

 **Warning: Religious talk in this chapter. Hopefully I don't offend anyone, but that's what this warning is for.**

Unintended Reveal

"I sort of hate Erik now." Raoul mumbled into his pillow as he laid in his bed in the dorms.

Christine turned her head to look at him. She was lying next to him. It was a tight fit but they made it work. "Why do you say that?"

"Because ever since that whole thing at the library with Carlotta I've been imagining Erik with us more and more!" Raoul groaned, his voice muffled by the pillow. "He gave us a peak of what he could do but what we can't have!"

Christine could not help but agree. It's been a few weeks since they had seen Carlotta, who had ambushed Christine while she was studying with Raoul and Erik. She had tried to get rid of the red head but hadn't been able to. She had gone back to the table they were at, expecting to get into another fight with her in front of Erik, which she had not been looking forward to when she saw something else instead.

Raoul had been kissing Erik and Erik had been participating! They looked like they had been together for months considering how well it was happening.

It was beyond the hottest thing Christine had ever seen.

For a brief moment, she had believed that Raoul had told Erik about their feelings for him and the elder had accepted, but a part of her knew that hadn't been the case because she knew that Raoul would have never told Erik without her.

But that brief moment, Christine had seen what she had wanted. Raoul gave Carlotta a complete false charm act and when she had turned to Christine, she did the same. Acting as if Erik had been with them for a while and had gotten over Carlotta.

The last part was, of course, true. The first part not so much.

But that moment, Erik had leaned towards Raoul and whispered those words with such longing and then held his hand out for Christine to take, his golden eyes setting her body on fire. That one moment, Christine let herself believe that maybe it wasn't an act, that Erik really wanted them.

Then Carlotta left and Erik dropped the act, leaving her cold. She almost couldn't hide her hurt, she thinks Erik had seen something but thankfully he hadn't said anything. They brought themselves together and had continued the tutoring as if nothing had happened. For Erik, she supposed that it was just that. For him, he had been doing his friends a favor by helping them out.

Christine was both envied and pitied Raoul because of it.

Envy in the fact that he had gotten to kiss Erik but pitied him for the same reason. To kiss him, only to have him brush said kiss off must have hurt, but there was nothing they could do about it. Not yet anyway. That night they had let out their frustration together, but Christine felt an ache in her heart after, as if they were missing someone.

By now, both of them knew who that was.

They had talked about Erik's face behind the mask. Meg didn't want to give any information and she hadn't except to warn them that it was most likely worse than what they thought. That wasn't encouraging but it gave the couple something to talk about. And talk they did. To them, they might be underestimating how disfigured Erik was underneath that mask, but Christine was confident that their feelings wouldn't change by seeing it.

"You haven't woken Nadir up because of your thoughts towards Erik, have you?" Christine questioned and that earned her a soft elbow in her gut.

"Ha ha." Raoul stated sarcastically, turning his head out of his pillow to look at her. He wrapped his arm around the top of her waist and held it there.

"Notice how that didn't answer my question." Christine replied innocently.

"No, I haven't woken him up, though there were possibly a few close calls." Raoul mumbled, his cheeks turning a light pink. "If he has, I'm hoping that he thinks I'm thinking about you."

"Somehow I doubt that." Christine responded. "Didn't you say that you think he suspects something?"

Raoul sighed. "Yeah, that's true. He's crafty, so I can't tell. I might be overthinking it. I tend to do that."

Christine leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on his lips before pulling back with a grin. "Yes you do, but I love it."

Raoul grinned back and lifted his arm off her waist. "You have class right? I'll see you later."

Christine hopped out of his bed and grabbed her backpack. She gave another wave to Raoul, who gave one back, before heading out.

As she walked, she only had one jacket on, it was finally getting warmer and the wind wasn't as chilling anymore. Sure they had there off days but most of the time the sun was out to cancel the cool temperatures to something more pleasant. She heard a voice and glanced over at the quad and saw a guy preaching about the bible to everyone walking by. She avoided passing by him, because it was awkward deal with those people, especially if you get called out by one of them.

Luckily, she was able to go around him with no problem and made it to class with time to spare.

Class was lazy. It was the week before Spring Break, so professors were getting as lazy as their students when it came to class.

Thankfully, or maybe not, depending how one looks at it, Christine had all her mid-terms that week. She knew a lot of people that hated that, but she personally preferred that. It meant that when she was done she could truly enjoy her week vacation, unlike some that would have to do their studying while on it.

She had taken one that morning and she was confident in her grade. Though she made sure to not be too confident lest she be disappointed if she receives a lower grade.

After class she made her way back to her dorm. As she passed the near the quad she noticed that she didn't hear the guy who had been speaking earlier. Usually he was there for a few hours so Christine got curious.

Not enough to change her path but enough to look at the quad when she passed it. What she saw made her freeze in her stride.

The man that had been preaching was in an apparently frustrating conversation with Erik.

Christine blinked at the sight and decided to get closer. She knew that Erik was atheist and was bound to insult the guy. Not that she cared about the guy, but Erik would do it for the sake of getting the man angry which wasn't okay.

As she got closer, she saw that the man was already mad and was gesturing violently with his hands and arms, his voice loud, his shoulders hunched. Erik, on the other hand, looked cool as a cucumber, standing in front of the man with his hands on his waist and a smirk on his lips.

The man's language got increasingly damning, telling Erik how he was going to go to hell and his soul suffering for all eternity.

Erik gained a thoughtful frown at that. "Well, that sounds contradictory to the all-loving god you are supposedly talking about. He seems kind of like a hypocrite."

Christine had to hold in a snort at his tone, but the man now looked like he was about to burst a vein.

"Repent, or you will not be saved!" The man growled.

Erik widened his eyes innocently. "I do not see you repenting for how you are treating me! I thought you were supposed to be all-loving like your god?"

"Erik." Christine called out when she got close enough.

Erik turned towards her and smiled. "Hello Miss Daae. I'm having the most interesting conversation with this man. It's quite intriguing, won't you join me?"

Christine put her hands up. "Oh, no. You leave me out of this."

Erik pouted and it really shouldn't have been as cute as it was.

"'I will put an everlasting reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.'" The man growled soft enough that Christine almost didn't hear him. Then she watched in horror as the man lunged forward, taking advantage of the fact that Erik was facing Christine more and ripped the mask off.

Erik immediately brought his hands to his face, covering it completely, and hunched forward as if he was punched instead of having his mask removed.

"'All day long my dishonor is before me. And my humiliation has overwhelmed me.'" The man recited harshly, staring at Erik with cold eyes, the mask in his hand.

"Erik—" Christine tried to go to him, but he flinched back like a kicked puppy. He curled inside himself as if trying to shrink in himself, but when that didn't work, he rushed pass Christine and sprinted away.

"Erik!" Christine yelled after him but he didn't turn back.

""And he said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.''" The man concluded with satisfaction.

Christine looked at him in disbelief, which was quickly turning into rage but before she could say anything another spoke.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" a girl Christine didn't know spoke up.

"The guy obviously has a reason for wearing that. You don't know why!" a boy joined it. "Who are you to take that from him?!"

Christine noticed that there were several people around them, all of the having witnessed what the man did.

"You're on our campus buddy, you don't go around touching students!" another girl growled. "We should have you reported!"

There was a cheer from the crowd and the man started to argue against them. However, a boy who looked big enough to be a weight lifter stepped forward and walked towards the man. The man instantly shut his mouth when the boy glared at him and held out his hand.

"The mask." He snarled.

The man dumped the mask into the boy's hand and he nodded. "Don't come back here."

The man quickly walked away, more like raced, with his bible clutched to his chest.

"Here."

Christine turned around and saw that the boy was holding the mask out to her.

"I hope your boyfriend is okay. I'm sorry, that guy went too far." He said.

"He's just a friend." Christine replied as she took the mask. When the boy started to apologize again, she shook her head and grinned. "Hopefully my future boyfriend though."

The boy grinned back.

Christine thanked the people who had said something in Erik's defense and walked away with the crowd wishing her luck.

She walked back towards her dorm with feeling light and heavy at the same time. Light because there were people who stood up for Erik, even if he didn't get to see it, it had happened and that was amazing. She doesn't get to hear a lot of good things people do for others, so it was nice to be reminded every so often. But she felt heavy because of Erik.

She knew that he wore the mask for a reason, Meg had told her that in enough detail. To have his mask suddenly harshly removed, in a public place no less, much have scared him.

And there was the fact that Christine had seen his face.

It hadn't been for long. Erik had put his hands up the instant he felt the mask being removed but for that gap between the mask being removed and his hands covering his face, she had seen it.

It was worse than Christine had imagined.

She had never seen anything like it, though she would say that the closest she could think of was a zombie movie. She knew that sounded terrible but it was the truth. His face had taken her by surprise, she wasn't going to lie about that.

However, she also knew that she still loved him. Yep, she was confessing it to herself. She loved Erik. She didn't know exactly when it happened but it did and Christine was going to be damned if she let something like Erik's disfigurement get in the way of that.

Erik was witty, kind, and smart. He loved to tease her and Raoul but also would be as patient as a saint when it came to tutoring them. He obviously cared deeply for his friends and acted like the protective older brother he wasn't by blood to Meg. She liked how long his fingers were, the hidden strength of his shoulders and his eyes that made her heart skip a beat when they are focused on her. She knew that Raoul felt the same to.

Hopefully, Erik will allow them to be with him.

 **And there we go. Yes, those quotes were really from the Bible, I had written what Psalms they were, but misplaced them.** **Prompt for this was actually 'Help! The religious fanatic is preaching about how I'm going to hell in the college plaza!' Or it was something like that. Obviously, Erik didn't need much help but yep! Hope you enjoyed it, write a review if you did. Erik's POV is next. Two more chapters! See ya next time.**


	13. Avoidance Blocked

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

Avoidance Blocked

"Erik? Miss Daae is here. She brought your mask back." Nadir informed Erik. "Can she come in?"

"No." Erik murmured from behind his hands. "Please thank her for the mask and send her away."

He heard Nadir whisper his message and heard Christine's voice answer but could not make out the words. The door soon closed, telling Erik she had left.

"I should really get another. I do not think one is enough, something like this can happen again." Erik remarked, feeling his bed dip from Nadir's weight.

"That's something you can think about later." Antoinette whispered softly as she ran her fingers through his hair. His head was on her lap while she sat on the other end of his bed. The movement caused the hair gel to break but Erik did not mind it, the touch was soothing. "Right now you should focus on feeling better."

"That damn preacher!" Nadir growled. "He should be reported for what he did. I'm pretty sure that could be considered assault. The school would certainly be on our side for it!"

"Maybe we can discuss that later." Erik whispered, opening his fingers enough to see through them.

The room was dark from when Erik had come into his room and covered all his windows with the curtains. Usually he liked the natural light, but he had wanted to sulk in darkness. To not be able to see his face even if he tried to, not that he would. Upon completing that, Erik had collapsed in his bed and sent off a text to Nadir and Antoinette asking to come to his room when they were free. Antoinette had arrived first and when she had taken in the pitiful sight Erik must had made, she began to comfort him. When Nadir had arrived, he had seen Erik curled up in Antoinette's lap and demanded to be told what had happened.

Erik had told them, all the while not removing his hands from his face.

Nadir sighed but nodded. "Yeah, sure. Okay."

"Why are you covering you face? You know both of us have seen you plenty of times." Antoinette questioned, poking at his fingers with her free hand.

Erik sighed but slowly dropped his hands. Nadir held out his mask to him which he took but did not put it back on. Instead, he messed with the mask in between his hands.

"Someone might have seen me." Erik told them, staring at the mask. "My mask was ripped from me and exposed me. It caught me off guard and rapidly, like they just occurred, all those memories came forth, right in the middle of the quad."

"It wasn't your fault." Antoinette soothed. "Not then, not now."

"And I doubt anyone saw you. In fact, Miss Daae told me that after you had left, a small crowd went after the guy. He ran with his tail between his legs." Nadir finished with a satisfied smirk.

Erik's eyes widen at the mention of Christine. "Oh gosh, tell me she did not—"

"I don't know." Nadir cut off. "From how she acted when she dropped off your mask, she either did not see or she does not care."

Erik snorted. "Or maybe her acting classes are paying off in real life."

Antoinette pinched him and he jolted before giving her a glare, which she returned.

"Give her a little credit. She does not seem like the type to care about appearances, especially with those she cares about. Mr. de Chagny too."

"She did seem deeply concerned." Nadir commented. He lifted his foot to rest on the bed and tapped his finger to his chin. "I think you are underestimating her."

"Maybe." Erik stated with a hint of doubt, placing his mask on the bed next to him. Nadir and Antoinette would not let him hide behind it this soon. "But I have had too many bad experiences in regards to my face to not be wary."

"We'll give you that one." Antoinette agreed. "We know you like them."

"Yes, of course, they are good friends to have." Erik stated without hesitation. "And they are great friends to Meg."

"That's not the kind of like, we're talking about." Nadir snorted.

Erik blinked and carefully kept his face blank since he had his mask off. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Bull, you don't know." Nadir countered with a scowl.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Nadir gave Erik a look that clearly stated that they were not done with the topic yet. He stood up and went to the door. When he opened it, he made sure to stand in a way that blocked Erik from the person at the door.

"Ah look, perfect timing. We could use your help!" Nadir declared in a cheerful voice that made Erik instantly suspicious.

Nadir stepped back to allow the person in and Meg walked through. Her eyebrows were furrowed in worry but what Nadir had said made her curious. She glanced at Erik and made her way to him.

"Christine told me what happened. How are you?" Meg asked, kneeling in front of him to not stand over him.

Erik grinned at her. "Better. How's my pearl?"

"Worried about you." Meg admitted. "Christine was pretty riled up when she talked to me. She was pissed at that guy."

"Apparently a lot of people were." Erik stated, he reached out and took Meg's hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "You do not have to worry about me."

Meg exhaled. "Yeah, like that'll ever happened."

She looked up at Nadir with a frown. "What did you need my help with?"

"Oh!" Nadir smirked and Erik wished that the ground would open up to swallow him. "Erik's saying that he likes Chagny and Miss Daae as friends."

"Only as friends." Antoinette emphasized. Meg's eyes widen in understanding.

"Yes, well you can all leave now, I'm feeling much better." Erik tried to sit up but was grabbed by his shoulders by Antoinette and forced back down.

"Nope! You are staying exactly where you are!" Antoinette declared cheerfully, her grip remaining on his shoulders in warning to keep him from moving. "And so are we!"

"Do we have to do this? I do not like them that way!" Erik protested up at Antoinette whose smile got wider.

"Sure you don't." she teased.

"I don't see why you are denying it this much." Nadir questioned, going back to his previous spot on Erik's bed. When Erik tried to kick him off, he stood up and sat back down again, but this time, behind Erik's legs, the weight of his legs keeping Erik from moving his.

"Now I feel trapped." Erik mumbled and side glanced at Meg. "You going to help them?"

"I don't need to." Meg grinned. She stood up from her kneeling position and walked to his desk. She grabbed the back of his chair, rolled it over and sat down a couple feet away. "I do like the show though."

Erik sighed dramatically. "Traitor."

"Now, are we going to have to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Nadir asked.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "This isn't the hard way already?"

"Nah, that's when we tie you up and force you to listen to rap music." Nadir answered with a smirk that showed he was serious and he would enjoy doing it.

Erik's eyes widen in horror, his body freezing for the same reason. They knew that he hated rap music, to him it was talking with a beat in the back ground, a complete second-rate, poor attempt at music.

"Look! He gets it!" Antoinette cheered.

"Okay. Okay! I will talk!" Erik began to struggle again. "Let me up!"

Antoinette release his shoulders and Nadir lifted his legs to free his. Erik quickly sat up and stood up from the bed to get away from the two of them. He did not want to be close enough from them to go through their threat. He sent them a scowl when he was satisfied with the distance.

"Savages. How dare you own any form of that disgraced form of music in my presence." He stated, placing his hands on his waist.

Antoinette rolled her eyes. "Just a few songs and only to be used to threaten you. We don't actually listen to the stuff."

"And for a genius you can sure be dumb." Nadir added. "How can you not have realized that you like them?"

Erik continued to stare at his friends without saying anything.

"He's realized, he just doesn't want to admit it." Meg suddenly announced, almost causally.

Antoinette gained a look of comprehension. "That would make sense!"

"I'll agree to that." Nadir approved.

Erik sighed shifted from foot to foot before stopping. "You going to decide that on your own?"

"Well, are you going to tell us?" Antoinette countered, waiting expectantly.

Erik stared at the carpet of his room. It needs vacuuming. Bringing his thoughts back into focus, he thought about the couple in question. He knew that he liked them and, _maybe_ , liked them a little bit more than friends. He liked how they were noticeably opposites yet that very fact is what makes them seem perfect for each other. When Erik had learned that they were polyamorous, he had been shocked, he could not think that anyone would be able to make them anymore complete than they already were. That was when he noticed that his feelings towards the two of them were changing. He did not know the exact moment but he grew to care for them deeply.

But why would he believe that anything further than friendship was possible?

"If it helps, they like you too." Meg offered. "Trust me when I say they would be more than happy to start dating you."

Erik's head jerked at the confession and frowned. "How would you know that?"

"I know a lot of things!" Meg bragged teasingly. "You underestimate my knowledge!"

"Then aren't you meddling in things since you know both sides." Antoinette inquired with a disapproving eyebrow.

Meg shrugged. "Maybe a little, but so are you two."

"If we didn't, nothing would get done." Nadir pointed out and the two women conceded the point.

"Then why are you talking to me." Erik deadpanned. "Obviously, the three of you have made your decisions towards everyone's feelings."

"Really? Okay, so you wouldn't mind me telling them myself that you want to date them?" Nadir started to get up as if to leave.

Erik glared. "Sit down."

Nadir held his hands up in surrender but sat back down.

"Come on, Erik, we only wish for you to admit it. It's not that hard." Antoinette pressed. "It's not about your face is it?"

Erik snorted, moving his hands from his waist to cross his arms. "When isn't it about my face? It will always come down to that."

"But Christine said she was fine with his face." Meg stated with a frown.

Erik's world froze at that sentence. The room got eerie quiet the millisecond after Meg had spoken.

Meg took in their looks of disbelief and gained her own. "You didn't know?!"

"She didn't give any reaction that could have been taken as such and she didn't not say anything." Nadir spoke weakly.

Meg started to twist her hands together in her lap, a nervous habit she has been unable to break. "I thought you knew."

"Its fine, Meg." Antoinette soothed, placing her hand on her sister's knee. "That part would have come out eventually."

"She…" Erik whispered to himself in shock, not comprehending anything around him. "She saw my face…"

"Whoa, hey, don't go inside that head of yours." Nadir hurried to stand up and came over to Erik. He grabbed his shoulders and Erik took hold of his hands to use as an anchor.

"She saw my face and was not horrified or disgusted?" Erik demanded, turning to Meg.

"She said it took her by surprise, but that's pretty much a given." Meg answered with no hint of falsehood. "She said that she could easily get used to it if you let her and that Raoul would be the same."

Erik felt light headed and tightened his grip on Nadir's hands to keep himself upright.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous." He giggled.

"Ah, I think Erik's in shock." Nadir stated, watching him carefully.

"Not surprising." Antoinette replied with a shrugged. "He just found out that his feelings might be returned, and that his face won't be a problem. Can you blame him?"

"Stop talking like I'm not here." Erik scowled, to which Antoinette shrugged again.

"How about it then? You willing to take a chance on them?" Nadir asked not taking his eyes off of him.

"I say go for it!" Meg gushed.

Erik grinned. "Sure. Why not?"

The answering cheers made him laugh.

 **And there we go! Another chapter up. And yes, this is the one before the last chapter. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it. Leave a comment! And, if you didn't already, leave a vote to which of the two fanfics you want up first! See ya next time.**


	14. It's Too Late to Deal With This—

**Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.**

It's Too Late to Deal With This—

Raoul slowly opened the door and peaked his head inside to look into the room. He found no one there and opened the door further for him to get through. Carefully, as to not make any noise, he stepped inside the room and went to a washer.

He was in the floor's laundry room and he needed clean clothes…yesterday. Of course when he was finally able to find the time to actually do it, the waiting list was ridiculously long and the people on it were lazy and weren't paying attention to their damn times. For instance, this was the third time Raoul had come to the laundry room and only two of the washers had a new set of clothes while the other two remained with the same ones.

People were lazy!

He had finally got a free washer on his second try and had come back when he knew they were finished. The bad news was that the people who were using the dryer still had their damn laundry in them. Raoul looked at the dryers and decided that enough was enough and opened the one he knew had recently finished. At the rate these people were going, he wouldn't have to worry about them coming back anytime soon.

As he opened the door, he felt a wave of heat from the freshly dried laundry. He quickly grabbed a bundle and turned around to place it on top of the washer. He dumped them and repeated until the dryer was empty. He turned towards his washer and opened the door. He tried to go as quick as possible because, while he had the right to remove someone's clothes if they were holding up the line, he didn't want to get caught. That would be awkward and something he didn't want to deal with. Plus it was late. Raoul figured no one would come around anyway.

So when he heard the door open for the room, he froze for a second in the middle of him closing the dryer door. He turned around and who was behind him startled him more than the door opening.

"What are you doing on the guy's floor?" Raoul questioned with a frown.

Antoinette raised an eyebrow. "The ones on our floor are broken so we have permission to use yours since it's the closest. There was a notice about it."

Raoul shrugged. He didn't pay those things attention, but he believed Antoinette.

Antoinette walked further into the room, the door closing behind her. "You took my clothes out?"

"What?" Raoul frowned then turned towards the pile on the washer. He saw the clothing and realized that it was for girls. Horror filled him, along with the heat that flushed through his cheeks. He hasty waved his arms in front of him. "I didn't know they were yours! I grabbed the laundry from the first dryer and I've been waiting for an opening for over an hour! I swear, I didn't see anything!"

"Calm down." Antoinette chuckled. "It's fine but can you do me a favor?"

"Sure!" Raoul agreed automatically.

"I got to go drop my clothes in my room but can you meet me in the study room? There's something I wish to talk about, can you bring Miss Daae as well?"

Raoul nodded. He was a little cautious since he and Antoinette weren't exactly friends but he did accidently touch her laundry so was willing to do something simple.

Antoinette grinned at him pleasantly, she took her clothes in her basket and left the room.

Raoul started his cycle on the dryer and left the room. He went to Christine's floor and knocked on her door. Christine answered with a yawn and in her pjs.

"Hey, you busy?" Raoul asked.

Christine shook her head. "Sleeping but what's up?"

"Antoinette wants us to go to the study room. She told me she wanted to talk about something."

Christine nodded and stepped out into the hallway. They went to the floor that had the study room and entered it. No one was inside, which was surprising because a lot of people had mid-terms going on. They waited for a few minutes and Raoul heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall and voices. The door creaked opened.

"Why did you wake me up?" Raoul heard Erik's voice question sleepy and he heart picked up speed.

Crap, he thinks he knows what this is about.

Antoinette entered first and then Erik trailed behind her covering a yawn with his hand. Raoul shouldn't find someone yawning this adorable but he did.

Erik blinked slowly, his eyes focusing on him and Christine. He seemed to not recognize them for a second but then sighed in irritation and shot a side glance to Antoinette. "Seriously?"

Antoinette smiled cheekily. "Who knows how long it will take for the three of you to get together. I saw an opportunity and took it."

"At 3 in the morning." Erik stated dryly with a squint.

"Don't worry it'll be quick." Antoinette assured. She turned to Raoul and Christine, placing her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. "Basically, I'm here to tell you to that Erik likes you. A lot. Open to dating and everything."

Erik face palmed at the confession but didn't say anything.

Raoul felt his breath cut off at Antoinette's words. Based off Erik's silence, it was the truth.

"And you two." Antoinette continued pointing at them. "Like Erik. A lot. Want him to be your third and all that good stuff."

"This is not how things work, my dear." Erik mumbled from behind his hand.

Antoinette waved her hand dismissingly. "Whatever. The deed is done. Everything is out in the open. Now I shall leave you three to discuss."

"Could we not leave once you are gone?" Erik replied sarcastically, taking his hand from his face.

Antoinette shook her head with a grin. "I'm going to keep the door shut! You're not leaving until I deem it fit."

With that, she hurried out of the room, dodging Erik's attempt at grabbing her. The door shut, leaving the three of them.

It was quiet for a few moments. Eventually, Erik was the one to break it.

"I'm too tired for this." Erik mumbled to himself, lifting his hand to rub a temple.

"Is what she said true?" Christine asked, her voice hesitant.

Erik glanced at them. "I don't know, did she tell the truth?"

"About us? Completely." Raoul told him. "This wasn't exactly how we wanted to tell you but…"

Erik rolled his eyes. "Antoinette has her own way of doing things. Though do not think she acted on her own."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Meg was in on this." Christine agreed with a small grin. "What about you? Was the part Antoinette said about you true?"

Erik stared at them for a few moments. Long enough that Raoul startled to feel the urge to twitch but was able to remain still.

"Yes, she was correct." Erik admitted before scowling in distaste. "I will have to get her later though for doing this to us."

"When you do, let me know, I'll help." Raoul offered. He laughed. "What an unromantic way of confessing!"

Christine started to laugh too and Erik chuckled with a sigh.

"They got their results." Christine pointed out. "They were probably tired of us stalling."

"Ah well." Raoul sighed with a roll of his shoulders. "Does that mean we're dating then?"

"I suppose it does." Erik replied with a chuckle.

"Great!" Raoul whooped. He went to Erik and took his head in his hands. He pulled him down and their lips met. Who would have thought a couple inches would matter that much? He held it for a few seconds before pulling back with what was probably a silly grin. "Been wanting to do that again since you met Carlotta."

Raoul could tell that Erik was raising his eyebrow underneath the mask, but his golden eyes held amusement. "Oh? Was that her name?"

Raoul huffed and let him go. "That's what you got from that?"

"Forgive me." Erik apologized, but the twitch of his lips spoke otherwise.

"May I?" Christine asked, coming up from behind Raoul.

Erik nodded and bent down as Christine tilted her head up. Their lips met and it was only for a few seconds like Raoul did with Erik. But when they pulled back, they eyes slowly opening at the same time with twin grins on their lips, Raoul felt his heart flutter.

Ah, darn it! They're too adorable! Raoul had his work cut out for him.

"Hey Erik?" Raoul heard Christine ask over the T.V.

They were in the dorms common area and it was surprisingly empty when they had gone inside. They had decided to do a movie night with just the three of them since they were now dating. It had been Raoul's idea but Christine had been the one to convince Erik to do it. He was supposed to pick out which movies they would watch, but Raoul had freaked out when he had discovered that Erik hadn't seen any of the Jurassic Park movies and vetoed him.

Erik hadn't minded but Raoul had given him a thank you kiss for it anyway.

Erik hummed to let Christine know that he was listening even though his gaze remained on the T.V. They were on the second movie and Eddie had just been eaten by the two T-rexs, what an unnecessary cruel part!

Erik was sitting in between Raoul and Christine, not that they had given him much of a choice in that matter. Raoul wasn't leaning on him or anything like that, but he did have Erik's hand trapped in both of his and one of his feet as well. Christine, on the other hand, had curled up next to Erik, pressing the sides of their bodies to each other and had her head resting on his shoulder.

Christine now lifted her head, leaning away from him to look at Erik. "This might be a little random but how do you see us?"

Erik blinked, turning to her with a confused frown. "What do you mean?"

Raoul had a feeling that this was going to be too serious to have Jurassic Park playing in the background. He quickly swiped the remote up from the coffee table in front of them and hit the pause button.

Oh, look, it's when the crew are all free hanging by the cord over the cliff. Nice.

Christine was biting her lip when Raoul turned to watch the two of them, he had to keep leaning forward on the couch to do so but he was curious as to what she was talking about. He released Erik's foot though because the way he was sitting made that awkward.

"Ah, I sometimes wonder, since you're asexual, how do you see us? Meg told us a little but I was curious about what you would say." Christine's face got steadily pinker as she talked. She started to shake her head hastily. "Never mind, forget about it, it's nothing. Ignore me."

Erik chuckled. "It's not nothing. Better you be curious enough to ask rather than assume things. What has Meg told you?"

"She said that it was like looking at art." Raoul joined in.

Erik nodded. "That is the best thing I came up with for people to understand. Think of the kind of art you like, something that you are drawn to when you go visit museums. Or a random piece that catches your eye. You see the beauty in those items, they appeal to your sense of taste and there are things that you do not like. There are forms of art that you do not care for. Yet with all of this, does that mean you are attractive to the art forms you do like? No it does not. And it's impossible for you to. That's how I see people. More or less."

"That is a good description." Christine smiled.

"You would not believe the trial and error I had to go through to finally think of that way." Erik replied good-naturally. "There are a lot of people that do not understand or want to understand. I'm not saying my description fits everyone asexual, but it works for me."

"Have people given you trouble about it before?" Raoul asked.

"Not me personally." Erik replied. "Not many people know that fact in the first place. I generally hear comments from what other asexuals have told me what was said to them. Mostly, people think it's either a phase or we just have not met the right person yet."

Christine scrunched up her nose in disgust. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, it sounds annoying having to deal with that." Raoul added.

"It is what it is." Erik shrugged. "That answer your question?"

"Yep!" Christine nodded once and dramatically pointed at the T.V. "Back to the movie!"

Raoul fumbled for the remote again and hit the play bottom. Screams from the crew instantly pierce the room as their RV feel to over the cliff below them. They totally deserved it after being stupid. Really, who's dumb enough to bring back an injured T-rex to their base camp? Raoul didn't care if it was a baby, that baby had angry parents.

Raoul placed the remote back down the coffee table and lean back into the couch. He trapped Erik's foot again and began playing with Erik's fingers between his two hands. He saw Christine rest her head on Erik's shoulder again and brought her legs up to curl on the couch.

A few months ago, if someone would have told him that he would be dating Erik Destler he would have punched them in the face before laughing at the absurdity of it. He had thought Erik was one of the most arrogant men he had ever met and had hated that Christine thought otherwise. But look at them now. Raoul had gone from thinking Erik was a hot jerk, to a still hot but actually not a jerk, finally to being complete head over heels for the genius.

And for whatever reason, Erik liked them back.

Raoul didn't care that Erik was asexual, he was more than happy to go within whatever limits Erik sets. Raoul was pretty positive that he and Christine would have fallen for him no matter what sexuality he was.

Raoul was content and let out a soft happy sigh as he focused his attention back on the movie. Things were good.

 **And that's it everyone. We all know that this was going to be the end and now it's happened! Hope you liked it, if you did be sure to leave a review for me! I do have another one coming up but I don't know when I'll post it. Obviously in the next literal year. If you liked this work, be sure to check out my previous works and leave a review if you like. It's always good to hear from readers who like my work. See you next year everyone and have a Happy New year! Don't go too crazy over the holiday!**


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